Agent of Mercy
by SakataTetsuya
Summary: In the end, death takes away everything. But it doesn't mean death know no mercy and compassion. But only a few ones deserve to receive that mercy and compassion And everytime there is someone who truly deserves it... one person shall deliver it. Slight crossover with Quantum Break. OCxharem. Isseix?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's rant: Something I wrote out of my amusement when I was trying to finish the next update of 'Code Breaker'. Don't expect an update soon. Quantum Break is really good.**

 **Also, this fic was inspired by the first chapter of "Shinji And The Girls of DxD" written by gunman, "Sarishinohara" written by Varange (when will that bastard update?), a wordless comic I read on the facebook and "Yodaka no Hoshi" (The Nighthawk Star), a popular Japanese story written by Miyazawa Kenji.**

 **Disclaimer: Highschool DxD don't belong to me... *sulking in the corner***

 **Chapter 1:**

" _In this world, if someone's wish comes true, someone else will suffer a loss."_

* * *

If you wanted to describe a beautiful day because of any reason or no reason, you could imagine a morning like this: The sun in the light blue sky was spreading its warm light on every living being on earth as the cloud was lazily floating without a care. The wind gently caressed the leaves or naughtily hopped on the road with it carefree step before shyly fell into step beside a young man in Kuoh Academy's male uniform with a black fedora hat on the top of his dark brown hair and a synthetic leather guitar case on his back as he walked at a leisurely pace, his hands were in his pants pocket as his cold yet tired black eyes with a light shade of brown were looking forward unfocusedly.

" **Yodaka** -kun? Why's the long face?"

Suddenly, he felt a light tap on the back of his head before a girl in female school uniform stopped in front of him. She had long orange-brown with two strands sticking out above the rest of her hair and reddish-brown eyes as she was clad in a different school uniform.

"This is how my usual face looks like, **Rei** " Replied the young man dryly as the girl fell into step beside him

"I know that. But why can't your face be happier? Your eyes looks quite cold." pouted Rei as she childishly turned away. For some unknown reasons, Rei would usually act rather childish whenever she was with him.

"Cold... Perhaps this is how I am. I'm sorry." said the young man as he could only nod apologetically

With a sigh, the orange-brown hair girl suddenly stopped in front of him as she looked straight in his eyes

"Yodaka-kun, you and I are best friend, right? You do know that I will help you in every way I can to help you if you have any problems... just like you have always done for me, right?"

With a sigh, he pat the girl's head lightly

"I know. And don't worry your little head of yours about me. I'm fine." Said Yodaka with a small amount of amusement as Rei playfully swatted his hand away from her head with a small blush

"Prat..."

"Anyway, Takashi-san is waiting for you there." Said the young man as he inclined his head forward

"Oh right. See you later, Yodaka-kun!" With a wave of her hand and a small wink, Rei quickly aproached the teenager who was waiting for her before both of them took their leave while happily chatting with each other.

When the pair finally out of his sight, Yodaka's eyes were slightly overshadowed by the bang of his hair as his lips morphed into a small bitter smile

"No, Rei... You will never be able to help me with my problem... "

To her, he was and always would be her best friend.

And nothing more.

Even though he had always held a tiny hope that his friendship with her could have become more... he knew it was unlikely to happen. She lived in a world more different than his. A world that someone who lived in poverty like him would only have a very slim chance to reach.

And even if she had accepted his feeling toward her, what else could he have given her beside his heart?

The answer: next to nothing.

In short, she was out of his reach. And even becoming her best friend had been nothing but a miracle he had been given by Kami-sama.

Just like Yodaka became Cassiopeia. **(*)**

But that wasn't matter anymore. She was already taken. All he could do now was to bury his feeling for her deep inside and continue to support her just like he have always done.

Even though it broke his heart to do it, as long as his best friend was genuinely happy with what she had chosen, he would be happy...

"Ah, sometimes I forget that dust can be a little annoying when it gets into eyes..." said Yodaka to himself as he shook his head slightly before he continued his walk to the academy.

What a way to start a new day.

* * *

 ***Kuoh Academy***

Closing his shoes locker, Yodaka let out a quiet sigh as he picked up his school briefcase, intending to go to his class...

"Hey, cheer up! You will never get a girlfriend with that face."

... another friend appeared in front of him after tapping his back.

"Unlike you, I'm not desperate to get a girlfriend, Naoto." Came Yodaka's reply in his usual dry tone

"Oh come on, Yodaka. You're still young, at least try to stop being such a prude and started finding a girlfriend and enjoy the time when..."

"I have said it already and I won't repeat it." Before his friend could go on, Yodaka cut him off "And beside, I doubt any girl would even notice me."

"Oi oi, what did I tell you about se..."

"... selling myself short? No, it's the truth, Naoto!" suddenly, Yodaka snapped, which unintentionally gained the attention of other students in the hallway "How many girls have noticed my presence, let alone smile at me? Barely few. I know that I'm not handsome. My grades maybe high enough to get scholarship but compare to the top of our year, they're nothing. I'm not a star athlete student and I have no special talents..."

"And what the hell is the thing you're carrying on your back?" deadpanned Naoto as he pointed at Yodaka's guitar case

"That's my hobby, not talent." Grunted Yodaka, which earned a grumble from Naoto 'Yeah right. Not talent, my ass.' But he decided to ignored it

"Moreover, I'm not wealthy. Hell, 'poor' would be a more accurate word to describe than 'not wealthy'. Even if there was a girl wanted to be my girlfriend, what could I give her beside my feeling and my heart? Next to nothing!"

"Okay, stop and calm down, Yodaka. It's not all about money, you know. And it's not like you have confessed to anyone... " Naoto raised his hands in surrender but his friend just shoved him away before taking his leave, making Naoto let out a sigh and followed his friend.

But unbeknown to both Yodaka and Naoto, in the group of students who noticed their conversation, there was a slim girl in Kuoh Academy female uniform with long brown hair that ended in two short braids and matching eyes as she also wore a blue headband.

"Kashitarou-senpai..." muttered the girl sadly as her eyes looked at the direction where Yodaka had taken off.

 ***Short timeskip, after school***

"How is your new pawn faring?" asked Rias as she walked beside her childhood friend/rival, Sona Sitri

"Pretty good. Though I have to say he was very eager when he heard that he was going to join the Student Council. What about yours?"

"The same, though Issei-kun was more eager because he heard that he could have a harem since he was a devil now."

"It couldn't be help. He is one of the Pervert Trio after all." Said Sona with a small amount of distaste as she put her glasses up a little bit

"But his potential is huge." Said Rias with a small victorious smile "After all, he took all of my 8 Pawn pieces to reincarnate him."

"It seems I lose you this time." Said Sona with a small shake of her head "Saji only took me 4 Pawn pieces."

" **... Anata ga suki, anata ga suki/ I love you, I love you**

 **Atashi ni wa, nani mo dekinai kedo/ Even though I couldn't do anything but**

 **Kaze no youni, hana no youni/ Just like the wind, just like the flower**

 **Tada, soba ni isasete/ Just like that, so please let me stay by your side."**

Before their conversation could go any further, a voice reached their ears and stopped them in their track

"Did you hear that, Sona?" asked the redhead devil

"Yes. Probably just a member of Music Club is practicing." Shrugged the Student Council dismissively "The Music Room is only a room away from where we stand after all."

"Yeah... " trailed off Rias before she continued her stroll with her childhood friend.

But why couldn't she shrugg off a feeling that there was something more about that voice?

* * *

 ***Timeskip***

On the crowded street, Yodaka was walking in silence after leaving the restaurant where he worked as a dish washer, his guitar case was on his back as his eyes almost lazily watched his surrounding with a small amount of amusement. Even in the late night, Kuoh City was still lively just like itself in the morning. People hanged around, enjoyed their fun or simply just minded their own business...

*GROWL!*

Shaking his head, he turned his head up in the sky and looked at the lazily floating cloud in an attempt to ignored his hunger...

*GROWL!*

Okay, that was ineffective.

But then again, since when it would be effective? He couldn't help but snort at his idiocy, which was the only thing he couldy used whenever he needed to distract himself from his problems...

*GROWL!*

The smell coming from a ramen stand near there made his stomach grumble again but he decided to look around him more in order to ignore the loud complaint. Now that he noticed, it was nearly 11 p.m and yet he could still see many young people who were only about his age at most hanging on the streets without a worry like this instead of staying in their home and preparing for their next day. He knew he had no right to judge them but... he just couldn't understand why... And why would their familes allow them to hanging outside at this time?

Perhaps it was because the world he lived was far too different than the world they lived, he couldn't help but thought like that. Perhaps it was why he couldn't understand...

*GROWL!*

"Another birthday has passed..." said Yodaka to himself as he looked at the cloudy sky. He nearly forgot about it himself. With a small wistful smile, he made a silent pray.

' _Amaterasu-sama, thank you... for granting me the strength to endure.'_

With a sigh, Yodaka nodded his head slightly before he continued his walk back to home. But something stopped him right in his track.

A small silver pocket watch that only he could see was floating right in front of him.

Someone needed more time.

And that person deserved it.

* * *

In the emergency of a hospital, doctors and nurses were doing everything they could to help and save their patients, a woman who was trying to deliver her child. The woman's weaken state endangered both the woman and her child. In the worst case... both the mother and the child would die.

This was a fight for their patient's lives. A fight that they couldn't afford to lose.

And they could feel that it was a losing battle as hope slowly slipped away.

But in this intense fight for the lives of the woman and her child, none of them were awared of another presence in the room: a young man with dark brown hair with a fox mask covering his upper face was looking at the woman on the bed or more specifically, the countdown number floating above the woman that only him could see.

 **00:03:12**

Raising his right palm, the small silver pocket watch appeared before slowly dissolved into numerous ember-liked light and transfered to the delivering woman.

 **00:31: 22**

This was all he could give her. It was all she deserved.

 **00:29:36**

Now it all depended on the woman

 **00:25:24**

The door of the emergency room was bursted open by the woman's husband the moment the first cry of the newborn child came.

 **00:23:58**

The sign of a new live came to the living world.

 **00:12:03**

Looking at the peacefully sleeping infant and his parents, the young man's lips morphed into a very small smile. Even though he couldn't enjoy this 'side job', he couldn't deny that he was truly happy for them.

If only their time could be frozen...

 **00:09: 41**

But the cycle must kept going no matter what.

 **00:07:29**

The doctors and nurses were all alarmed by the weakening state of the woman. A nurse quickly swooped the infant before the remain started engaging in a new fight against time.

 **00:04:50**

A fight the young man knew they literally had no chance to win.

 **00:02:59**

Slightly shaking her head, the woman raised her hand toward the nurse who was holding her child, signaling for her to come close.

 **00:02:00**

Holding her child in her arms, the woman looked at him with a loving look.

 **00:01:47**

In his sleep, the child unconsciously held onto his mother's index finger, bringing a small smile on her face

 **00:01: 03**

With all of her remaining strength, the woman kissed her child's forehead with all the love a mother had for her child.

 **00:00:43**

The first and the final kiss she could give him.

 **00:00:17**

The woman leaned back to her bed, her breath became swallow and slow as her eyes slowly closed.

 **00:00:09**

Her face had a peaceful expression before she drifted into a sleep

 **00:00:01**

A long eternal sleep.

 **00:00:00**

Turning his back away, he left the emergency room as the doctors helplessly tried to bring the woman back to the land of living. The sob coming from the husband was heart-broken, reminding him why he couldn't enjoy this 'side job'.

"Wait!"

A voice snapped him out of his train of though. Looking up, he saw the silver silhoutte or more exactly, the soul of the same woman that he had given her more time to deliverer her child now appeared in front of him, something didn't exactly surprise him.

"You're the one who gave me more time, right?" It was more like a statement than a question and he knew it "Thank you... for giving me more time to meet my child... and to hold him in my arms..."

The woman gave him a deep bow of genuine gratitude. If only he could gave her enough time to see her child grow up...

"Shinigami-sama?" the young man raised his eyebrows a little bit due to the woman mistook him for the Shinigami, which was the fourth time ever since he started this 'side job'. "Can I ask you a question?"

"I'm not Shinigami..." He shook his head. "... but please ask. I will answer as best as I can."

Nodding her head in acceptance, the woman soul looked straight at his mask

"Will I be able to watch my family from where I am going to?" a question he had expected her to ask

"I don't know." He replied with honestly. "It depends on the judgement whether you will stay in the Yomi, be reborn or to be damned."

"I see..." the woman said muttered sadly "Death is truly terrifying judge..."

Again, he shook his head

"Izanami rules the Yomi, but she passes no judgement. Judging is what Shinigami does." This seemed surprised the soul "He cares not of your status. He cares not of your wealth. He cares not of your karma. He does what needs to be done."

Nodding her head again, the soul of woman started flickering and became blurry. Her time in the world of living was running out.

"Thank you for your answer... kami-sama **(**)**."  The young man couldn't help but be amused by the way the soul of the woman refered to him "But... who exactly are you, kami-sama?"

"...My name is **Yodaka. Kashitarou Yodaka.** " The young man gave her a small bow "And I am not a kami. I am a **Jihi no** **Ējento /Agent of Mercy.** "

(Chapter end)

* * *

 **(*) A reference to "Yodaka no hoshi" written by Miyazawa Kenji**

 **(**) Kami are ANY of the sacred beings worshiped in Shintoism, conceived as spirits abiding in natural phenomena and sometimes in people with extraordinary qualities, not just means 'God'**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

 _"Continue to walk forward... until my legs are tired..."_

 _Continue to walk forward... until I find my final destination..._

 _... Those precious things... what are they?"_

* * *

 ***The next day, lunchtime, rooftop***

Letting out a small sigh, he put his empty lunchbox aside. It had been quite a long time since he had anything other than mugimeshi **(1)** , which he had to use broken rice **(2)** instead of normal rice due to his financial problem, and takuan **(3)**. And since yesterday had been his birthday, treating himself with something luxury for once wouldn't bring any negative result to his wallet.

And the instant curry he had bought last night was really delicious, truly worth every yen. And that reminded him to thank Kashima for her suggestion. She was a really nice girl and he was thankful that he was her friend.

Too bad his meal would return to the usual after this luxury **(4)** treat. Perhaps yesterday he should have wished to be able eat instant curry everyday instead?

Nah, perhaps not.

Shaking his head slightly with a usual tired sigh escaped his lips, he looked up at the cloudy sky with his mind started wondering about his future after graduating. He knew studying in university would cost him a large sum of money that he couldn't afford and getting an university scholarship was extremely hard. Without education in university, he would struggle to find a decent full-time job to raise himself, let alone raising his future family...

Yeah right, as if a girl would lay eyes on a poor guy with nothing special like him. He couldn't help but laugh at himself.

Man, he was so pathetic...

Well, he did HAVE something special, but those weren't something he could tell other _normal_ people. And moreover, he didn't want to get the attention from the _devils_ in this school. It would make his side jobs harder.

But now thinking about it, it appeared they were oblivious about his status based on the encounters between him and them while Amaterasu-sama had said that she had notified the Crimson Satan, Sirzechs Gremory about him being the representative of the Shinto faction. While Kuoh was considered as the devil's or more precisely, Gremory Clan's teritory due to agreements between Factions, it technically still belonged to the Shinto Faction since Kuoh was a part of Japan.

Which led to his status as the representative of the Shinto Faction in the town to oversee the people followed Shintoism, making sure they wouldn't be caught in the crossfire between supernatural factions. So at least his sister, who was in the same class with him, should be awared about his status but it seemed not.

Oh well, no use of thinking about that now and it wasn't like he complained about it. His job as Agent of Mercy as well as representative for the Shinto would be much easier without their attention. They stayed out of his way and he stayed out of theirs. It was just simple like that.

A small white bird flew past him in the sky. Now he wondered what kind of life the bird had. Full of freedom? Or just like his life?

Ah, now he really wanted to become the clouds in the sky. But then again, what was the point of running away from the problem?

*RIIIIIIIIIIIING!*

With a loud long noise, the school bell stopped his train of thought dead in its track. Shaking his head one more time, he picked up his things before returning to class.

* * *

 ***Timeskip, after school***

"Hawaa!"

Well, this was... weird.

"Auu, why do I keep tripping?"

After all, it wasn't everyday that you met a foreign-looking blond nun, who had just tripped because of no reason and was currently lying on the ground, her arms spreaded wide open and the situation was giving him a very good view of her panties.

He wondered what 'The Perverted Trio' would probably trade to be in his position if they knew about this. Letting out a short sigh, he crouched down and picked up her veil before turning to the moaning nun

"Are you alright?" Being the representative of Shinto Faction, he was granted the ability to understand all the languages and made people understand what he said or wrote despite the language difference. While this ability hadn't helped him much with his job as the representative of Shinto Faction, it had helped him alot in earning money to live.

Oh, and the English tests, too. Having perfect scores without learning was a nice bonus.

"Ah! Thank you very much for your kindness!" said the nun sincerely in Italian as he helped her up. She was quite young, about his age at best and she seemed travelling alone if her luggage indicated anything.

A travelling life, huh? He wondered what that life would be like. Going around, seeing new places and new people...

"I just got here and I can't speak Japanese very well." said the blond nun as he gave her back the veil "Do you where's the church in this town? I was appointed there but I was lost and... um... people couldn't understand what I was saying."

Wait.

The only church in the town had been abandoned for years. Why would a nun be appointed there? There was something dodgy here.

"You do? Thank you very much!" the nun clasped her hand and started praying after receiving a stiff nod from him "Meeting such a kind person must be God's grace!"

If she knew the truth, she wouldn't say that. That aside...

"If you want, I can lead you to the church" he said in a neutral tone

... He should take a look at the church the nun mentioned since it would at least gave him some... info, even if what he gained might be pretty useless. But since the place he worked was not really far from there, why not? Having something was better than nothing.

"Really? Thank you!... um... I'm sorry but what's your name?" said the nun in embarassment "I'm Asia. Asia Argento."

"Yodaka. Kashitarou Yodaka."

 **(Chapter end)**

* * *

 **(1) Mugimeshi is rice cooked with barley mixed in and is known as meal for the poor.**

 **(2) In Japan, broken rice is often used as bird feed. You can also buy it in bulk online, especially during new-harvest season. Some merchants sell it as "helping the household budget" rice, although you have to acknowledge a disclaimer that it is definitely not the same as whole rice in quality and taste.**

 **(3) Takuan, or pickled radish, is also known for being a simple side dish to appear in an average meal.**

 **(4) Curry (let alone instant one) is anything BUT luxury.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Songs used in the chapters (the links can be found in my profile):**

 **1/ Chikyuu no akichi (Vacant Land of Earth) _ KK**

 **Chapter 3:**

" _Goodbye... just means I'll never see you again..."_

* * *

 ***The next day, lunch break, music room***

The only easy day was yesterday. Whoever said that sentence, he would like to meet that person, give him or her a pat on the back and agree wholeheartly.

After all, who would have known the nun named Asia possessed a Sacred Gear that could heal wounds, and the abandonned church he had led her to had a heavy tainted-light aura that he usually sensed in Fallen Angels. Why were the Fallen here? What were their plans? Was the nun in league with the Fallen? Was the nun trustworthy or was she just using a trustworthy and clumsy guise? Were the devils awared of the presence of the Fallen? If they had been awared, why hadn't they done something? Too many questions. Too few answers.

Man, this was troublesome. And now all he could hope that whatever troubles might happen, it wouldn't get in between his part-time jobs. Money wasn't everything but without it, life was cruel would be an understatement

Taking a sip from his water bottle, he couldn't help but let out a sigh. After having a taste of instant curry yesterday, his meal had returned to the usual with mugimeshi and takuan. He couldn't help but wonder whenever his wallet would allow him to have a taste of instant curry again.

Now that he noticed, since when he had started sighing a lot? Urghh, now he felt like an old man already. Perhaps Naoto was right, he should take a break now and then.

Yeah, and risk losing his part-time jobs. No way in hell.

With a small almost sardonic laugh, he took out a music sheet from his guitar case and approached the piano in the music room. It had been some time since the last time he played piano and while both his guitar skill and piano skill were mostly self-taught and couldn't be as good as the members of Music Club, he was still proud of it nonetheless.

Heh, if he had had a wonderful voice and a good look, perhaps he would have tried to become an idol to earn more money.

Yeah right, he thought sarcastically. With a small amount of amusement, he decided to put on his fox mask before sitting in front of the piano. Playing piano as Agent of Mercy would be a new experience as the thought entertained him a little bit.

And after all, it wasn't like there would be anyone or some nosy reporters suddenly appeared and saw a student with fox mask playing piano and singing with average voice at this hour.

 **( Play music: Chikyuu no akichi [Vacant Land of Earth] _ KK )**

" **hikkoshi sagyou no tochuu mitsuketa oshiire no danbooru/ When I was moving I found it, inside a cardboard box in my closet**

 **hikkuri kaesu to omocha ni butsukete kubonda boku no chikyuugi/ Turning it over, it looked like it'd been dented by a toy, my old globe**

 **oosutoraria to nyuu jii rando no aida ga hekondete/ The space between Australia and New Zealand has been bent in,**

 **sekidou o hashitteru akai sen ga kogecha ni natteta/ The red line running across the equator has turned black..."**

Every song he wrote, each of them contained a memory, a story about his "clients". Some had happiness, some had sadness. Regret. Anxiousness.

" **boku no shiru sekai wa hekondete sabite iru/ The world I know has been beat up and rusting**

 **mado no soto dekiru dake tooku o mite mitai/ I want to look as far as I can outside the window"**

And some contained questions and wishes.

" **Somaria no kaizokusen kizukanu mama ni umi e shizumu/ A Somalian pirate ship is sinking into the sea unnoticed**

 **inochi ga aru darou/ There are lives on board, aren't there?**

 **Bosunia no juugekisen** **otakebi o agete kieteyuku/ A Bosnian firefight, a roar rises up and then gently disappears,**

 **inochi ga aru darou/ There are lives being lost, aren't there?"**

* * *

It had been a while since the last time Kuoh Times, the newspaper puplished by the Newspaper Club, had gathered any attention. And now, it was up to her, Aoba **(1)** the buchou of Newspaper Club, to change it!

But there was one BIG problem.

Scoop!

Aoba needed a hot new steaming scoop!

The news about the two Kuoh onee-sama was too hard to get and there weren't anything hot enough to gain the attention of Kuoh students. And for god's sake, she didn't want to put the perverted trio on the newspaper even though it would be about them being beaten by the girls

But if she couldn't find any new scoop, she would have to resort to find out how the hell Hyoudou Issei became a new member of Occult Research Club...

" **amerika gun no kanseitou mieru aite wa itsumo soba de/ The American military control tower is always a visible companion nearby**

 **tadaima to iiau hito ga iru/ And many arguing, saying 'This is my home!'**

 **muishiki demo** **muboubi nara** **kimi no kokoro wa furueru darou/ Being unconscious, even defenseless, your heart is trembling, isn' it?**

 **Nemutteru** **kokoro o** **tataki okose/ Suddenly your sleeping heart is sharply awoken"**

As she was walking in an empty hall, the sound of piano and a singing voice reached her ears. Curious, Aoba quickly approached the source of the music, which was the music room now that she noticed. As she tooko a peak from outside, she saw a male student, probably second year or third year, with dark brown hair and a fox mask covering his upper face as said student's fingers were moving on the keyboard while he sang with a hint of solemnity.

She has found her scoop!

" **kikoeteru ka** **kanseitou** **mieru dareka ga** **koe o hatte/ Can you hear that? Someone in sight of the control tower is letting loose their voice**

 **utau uta ni** **misairu o tobasu no ka/ Firing a missile with the song they sing, aren't they?**

 **Akirameruna kanseitou juusei ni magireta ubugoe/ Don't give up, as for the control tower, the baby's first cry blends into the sounds of gunfire**

 **kikoeteru ka** **kikoeteru ka/ Can you hear it? Can you hear it?"**

As her camera and voice recorder walked with everything they got, Aoba couldn't help but wonder. Who was this student? Was he a member of a music club? Why would he practice alone? And more important, why would he even have to wear a mask?!

Mystery was waiting to be solved! And it would be her job, the greatest journalist of Kuoh Academy

" **chokkei sanjut' senchi no chikyuu wo motte tabi wo shitai/ Carrying this 30-centimeter globe I want to take a trip,**

 **taisetsu na koto wa** **boku no me to kokoro de** **tashikametain da/ I want to ascertain what's precious with these eyes and this heart of mine**

 **chikyuu ni akichi ga areba** **soko wa donna basho darou/ If those vacant lands exist somewhere on earth, what kind of places are they?**

 **hikouki mo fune mo iranai** **dokoka ni** **arun darou na/ I won't need a plane or a ship, because such things, they exists everywhere, don't they?"**

(End music)

As the student slowly stood up, Aoba quickly slipped away before the mysterious student could notice her presence. Now it was the time for investigate and information gathering! With this, she could have a blockbuster-sized scoop!

But when she reached the first floor, a thought hit her.

Why should she have to slip away? Why shouldn't she try to stay and find out who that student was? If the newspaper came out, that student might decided to lay low for god-knows-how-long and she would never have a chance to find out who he was...

In mere seconds, Aoba ran back to the music room as if she was chased by an angry mob, hoping the student haven't left yet...

"Damn!" cursed Aoba

... only to find that the male student had already left.

* * *

 ***Timeskip, after school***

For some unknown reasons, he had an odd feeling that he had jinxed himself. He didn't know why, he just felt it.

Would it make him become a paranoid jerk? Nah, perhaps not. Though the feeling was still nagging in his mind and it was rather annoying. Perhaps he should prepare himself for whatever was going to happen...

But when he walked past the next corner, the house on the left caught his atention or more precisely, the very poor barrier was put on the house. Whoever erected this barrier must be a novice in magic or the one who created this was trying to scream _"There is something suspicious here! Check this out!"._

If it was the second case, then he would say the one erected the barrier had succeeded.

Snapping his fingers, his fox mask appeared on his face with a USP .45 tactical surpressed in his hand. When the sun goddess had given him weapons in order to protect himself, he had expected to be given something like a katana, a tachi **(2)** or perhaps a tantou **(3)** or any Japanese traditional weapons, not firearms, albeit foreign ones. And while he agreed with her choice of firearms over tradtional weapons, the reason she chose foreign-made firearms was what amazed him: she didn't believe the firearms produced by Japan.

Amaterasu, Japanese Sun Goddess, didn't trust firearms produced by Japan. That was rich on so many levels. If any gunsmiths in the past had known about this, he wondered what kind of reaction they would have.

Shaking his head slightly, he cautiously approached the barrier as he closed his eyes

" **Time Vision"**

When he opened his eyes, the world around him became dark grey as seven red humanoid figures could be seen inside the house. The barrier had done absolutely nothing to prevent his vision. He wondered...

He decided to take a step forward and easily past the barrier.

... yep. This barrier was way too poor to prevent anyone coming from outside, though it did prevent one thing from escaping.

The smell of blood.

This was very serious.

Without causing any sound, he turned off Time Vision as he approached a window and what were inside nearly made him choke

On one side of the living room, all the devils of Occult Research Club led by the sister of Sirzechs Gremory were standing on guard, ready to engage as their newest member, Hyoudou Issei seemed like he was injured. On the other side were a white hair male dressed in priest outfit holding a light sword with Asia Argento sat on the ground, bruise marks could be seen on her face. And for some odd reasons, his gut was telling him the devils wasn't the ones who caused it. But those weren't what nearly made him choke

In the middle, the coprse of a girl was nailed onto a wall with blood spashed nearly everywhere. Her face was disfigured beyond recognition as her abdomen had been sliced open, intestines were slowly falling out of the cut. In short, a gruesome and grotesque sight.

" _Punishment for those who sinned_." Came his quiet sardonic grunt as he read the English words on the wall. Now he knew who was the murderer.

"Buchou! There seems to be a group of Fallen Angels heading to this house." Said Himejima Akeno, the other one of The Two Great Onee-sama of Kuoh "Fighting them will draw too much attention!"

Alarmed, he switched to his Time Vision and looked around. It took him a few seconds to spot a group of four red humanoid figure with wings on the sky about 100 meters from his position. This Akeno had quite a sharp sense if she could detect that far. As for him, he didn't have to worry about being detected as long as he kept blending his presence within the flow of time and no one saw him.

Nonetheless, he still had to get out the here. As the black hair beauty had said, fighting here would draw too much attention, not too mention unwanted casualty on unlucky people if they were caught in the crossfire. The devils could handle themselves but for Asia...

Guess he would have to accept the invite to have tea with the blond nun sooner than he had expected.

With that in mind, he stealthily left the scene in the other direction, made sure that he couldn't be seen by the incoming Fallen.

On the side note, at least he still had enough time to reach his workplace and the feeling he had jinxed himself finally disappeared.

(Chapter end)

* * *

 **(1) A reference to Aoba from Kantai Collection. In the fandom, Aoba is depicted as being a curious and nosy reporter, always snooping around for the next scoop.**

 **(2) A type of traditionally made Japanese sword (nihonto) worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The tachi style of swords preceded the development of the katana—the first use of the word katana to indicate a blade different from tachi appears toward the end of the twelfth century**

 **(3) Tantou is commonly referred to as a knife or dagger. The blade is single or double edged with a length between 15 and 30 cm, designed primarily as a stabbing weapon but the edge can be used for slashing as well**

 **Authour's note: Even though I enjoy writng about a character with poor finance, I can't deny the fact that writng this kind of character is fucking hard, especially for someone who is still somewhat new to writing like me. So, I thank all the people/readers who accepted, favorite and follow my fic despite its flaws. Even with the lack of reviews, you guys help me to continue writing (though I admit seeing new reviews would help me more with improving my fic). Again, thank you very much.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

" _In a world where we're allowed to search for the meaning of our lives,_

 _isn't it a bit too early to say goodbye?"_

* * *

 _"Are you still nervous about your surgery?"_

A young man was speaking through his cellphone, in his other hand was a small bouquet of blue roses.

 _"Of course! They're operating on my eyes, you know?"_

Came the reply from the other side of the line, the voice belonged to a young woman

" _But,after I recover..._

 _... I'll finally be able to see Kazuya's face again, right?"_

A gentle smile plattered on the face of the young man as he nodded

 _"...That's right"_

 _"Hehe,_

 _okay, I gotta go now."_

The light changed, signalling that it was okay to cross the street. The young man absently took a step forward

 _"Ah, take care. See you later."_

With that, the line went dead.

And that moment, a large truck came forward with a very fast speed despite the red light.

And all the young man could do was look at the incoming truck before his world turned red

* * *

 ***Timeskip, the next day, afternoon***

"Kashitarou-san, you're fired."

Well, that wasn't what he had expected to hear when he went to one of his workplaces, which was a fastfood restaurant. Nonetheless...

"Is it okay for me to know the reason why I am fired, Ukitsu-san?" he asked with a neutral tone

"Due to the financial problem, we need to downsize the number of personnels. I'm sorry."

Yeah, right. And Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nickname was Roba, not Kozaru **(1)** , he couldn't help but snort in his mind. His manager's voice showed him that he felt anything but sorry. Anyway...

"This is the payment for this half-a-month." An envelop was given to him as he nimbly took it. It seemed the manager was hoping he would go away as fast as he could.

Giving a nod, he turned toward the exit. But before he could do that, a rather... amusing scene caught his attention.

"Auuuu... What should I order?"

In front of the register, Asia Argento was standing with a confused expression as she muttered aloud to herself in Italian while the employee was also confused by what the blond nun said. The Earth was really small, wasn't it?

"Umm... what would you like to order?" came the question in English from the employee. If this continued, he wondered how long it would take until this situation was solved.

Oh well, he probably should help her.

"What would you like to order, Asia-san?"tapping the shoulder of the employee, he signaled him to stepped back as he stepped forward and asked her in Italian

"Eh? Yodaka-san?"the surprise could be heard clearly in her tone "Wha-what are you doing here?"

"This was one of my workplaces"he shrugged casually "Anyway, what would you like to order, Asia-san?"

"Auuu... I haven't eaten anything like this"now he could hear the distress in her tone befoe she said in a rather forced proud tone "Don't worry Yodaka-san. I can manage this!"

Five minutes later...

"Auuu... I can't buy a burger by myself" _now_ the blond nun had an invisible dark cloud floating above her head as both her and him now sat opposite each other in a small table, her meal now was in front of her. The distress in her tone had increased tenfold. "I'm so ashamed."

After waiting and the blond nun hadn't been able to choose what she wanted, he had decided to choose order for her and brought it to a table that had a nice view of the street. Though the looked of other males in the restaurant toward Asia's and his direction made him a little bit uneasy but he just shrugged it off. And for the young nun, after finally getting out of her distressed, Asia decided to pray before taking a _very_ close look at the burger in front of her instead of eating eat.

A funny thought decided to pop up in his mind. Did she khow how to eat it?

Nah, of course she would know, right? If him, a person who had never eaten a burger or french fries knew how to eat it, then she would...

"Ummm, Yodaka-san?... How should I eat this?" asked Asia timidly

... Seriously? What next? She didn't know how to eat french fries?

"Ummm, and... should I eat this by hand or by fork?" asked Asia in embarassment as she indicated the french fries

... It was a lie right? It was a lie to make her look like a shy, innocent and socializing inexperienced girl, right? But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see or feel any signs proved that she was lying. This girl must be an exceptional actress or a girl had no common sense!

Either way... Oh dear, he could feel a headache was coming close. With a sigh, he shook his head, he reached toward her tray

"You eat the burger by taking off the wrap first like this..."

"So that's how to eat a burger!? Amazing!"

He didn't even finish his sentence. And that reaction was a little too much, wasn't it?.

"... And you can use hand to eat. You can also eat the fries by using hands, too."

"Oh my God!"

This was going to be very troublesome.

"This burger is so delicious!" squealed Asia happily as her eyes shining before she suddenly stopped "Umm Yodaka-san, is it okay for me to ask something?"

He nodded with a thin smile. Until now, the nun _seemed_ innocent but he still had to be on guard.

"Why don't you eat, too?" asked Asia as she tilted her head

Ah, that question.

"I'm not hungry." he lied. The money to have one meal in this place was enough for him to eat in a whole day. Having a meal here was even harder than having another instant curry meal. Flexing his shoulders a little bit, he changed the subject "You have never eaten burger before?"

"I have seen it on televsion, but this is my first time eating this!" nodded Asia happily after she finished her burger "It's so delicious! Thank God for give me a chance to enjoy it!"

If it wasn't for him being cautious, he would find the way she react would be amusing.

"Normally, I usually eat bread and soup. I also eat salad and pasta." Continued the blond nun "To have a chance like this is truly God's bless!"

Such luxury food, he let out an unnoticeable sigh. He wondered when he would have a chance to have a taste of those food. That aside...

"What are you doing outside the church?" he asked half-heartedly

"AH! ... I-I am just having t-time off!" said the blond nun a little too loud

Liar. If the sadness in her eyes was genuine, she was doing anything but having time off. Was she truly a bad liar or it was just a guise?

Damn, he really became paranoid, he mentally admitted. And his paranoid was bugging the hell out of him! Though he knew a way for him to check whether she was acting or not, there was one problem...

"Asia, do you want to hangout with me for a while?"

"Huh?" Asia seemed taken back by his sudden question

... he hoped his budget could endure it in the near future and his stomach could endure in a little farther future.

Meh, he would survive. With an empty stomach for some time.

* * *

 ***Short timeskip***

"Ah, we played a lot today...I'm a bit tired but it was so fun. I'm really happy!" squealed Asia as she hugged the mouse-liked plushy they had won in the crane game machine. Both of them now sat on a bench in the park, watching the sunset in a quite peacful atmosphere.

The scene would have been perfect if it hadn't been for the perverted devil who had been tailing him since he let Asia to a arcade center. Now he could understand how the girls could easily catch him and his friends peeping. The pervert was literally sucked at secretly tailing other people! He couldn't help but wondered whether Asia noticed the pervert or not.

As for him, he was happy too. With great effort, the 'hangout' didn't cause any severe dent on his budget. His stomach would be feeded in a little farther future!

Aside from that, he had accomplished his main goal through conversation and observation during their 'hangout'. While he didn't know about Asia's allegiance, he could at least confirm that she was honest and truthworthy.

Of course, that didn't mean he could let his guard down

"How was your life in a church back then _,_ Asia-san?" he asked neutrally.

A tear rolled on her cheek before more and more started faliing. And it was the start of a story about a 'Holy Maiden'

In a certain region in Europe, there was a girl who was discarded by her parents. She was raised in a church nearby by a nun along with other orphans. The girl, who was a strong follower of the Church, discovered her special power at the age of 8. She healed a wounded puppy, and a person from the Catholic Church witnessed it by chance. From there on, her life changed. The girl was taken to the main Catholic Church and she was symbolized by many as a 'Holy Maiden' because of her healing power. She used her power to heal many believers. They were told it was a power of divine protection. Rumors brought rumors and she was respected as a 'Holy Maiden' even without her approval. She had no dissatisfaction's for how she was treated. People from the Church were kind and she didn't hate healing people. She instead was happy that her power was of use. The girl was thankful to God who had given her that power.

But she was a bit lonely. She didn't have any friends she could talk to. Everyone treated her nicely and was nice to her. But there were no one willing to become her friend. She understood why. She knew that they were looking at her as something irregular. They didn't look at her as a human but as a creature that could heal humans.

And one day, everything changed. By coincidence, there was an injured Devil nearby, and she healed it. She thought that even if it was a Devil, she had to heal it if it was injured. It was her kindness that made her take such an action. But that changed her life forever. One of the people from the Church saw that incident and notified others of the Church. The higher ups of the Church were shocked about it.

In a blink of eyes, the respected 'Holy Maiden' now was deemed as a heretic, a 'witch', a blasmephy. After she was kicked out of the church, she was picked up by a group of "Exiled Exorcists" and taken under their wings in exchange for her divine protection.

"It's because I didn't pray enough... See? It's because I'm clumsy. I'm so stupid that I can't even eat a burger by myself." Asia wiped her tears while laughing to herself while he just kept silent. In a brief second, he suddenly had an intent to reveal about the truth about God but he decided to shut his mouth.

"This is also a trial that God gave me. Since I'm a clumsy nun, God gave me this trial so I have to endure it." The laugh of the former blond nun became more and more broken as she seemed like she was talking to herself instead of him. Despite that, he could sense a very strong faith in the Bible God in Asia. That was quite a feat given she was kicked out of the church.

" I have a dream, Yodaka-san. I will make lots of friends one day. I want to go buy flowers with a friend...and also go buy books and...talk..."

The blond nun slowly trailed of before more tears falling. He couldn't detect any sigh showing that the girl was lying. While he wasn't good at comforting people, perhaps he could try

"And you have already started achieved your dreams."

"Huh?" this seemed catch Asia by surprise

" We played, we laughed, we talked together for the whole day, didn't we? Then we are friends." He said casually as Asia's eyes widen.

To be honest, he still had a little doubt about this girl but he decided to give her a chance.

After all, except truth, what would he lose anyway?

".. But Yodaka-san... I have no common sense." Sadness laced in her voice as her hand was put on her mouth while she continued to cry

"You have already started learning by watching and observing things around you, haven't you?"

"...I can't speak Japanese and I don't know Japanese culture..."

"You can learn. With enough time and practice, you'll eventually be a natural"

"...I don't even know what to talk about..." This earned a snort from him, this girl was even more pessimistic than him

"You talked to me normally for a whole day. That's a start. You'll just have to keep going from there."

"…You will be my friend, Yodaka-san…?" for the first time, he saw hope in her eyes as he gave her a flat look.

"OUCH!" Asia held her forehead, courtesy of his flick.

"We are already friend, Asia-san." He patted her head lightly "I'll be in your care from now on Asia"

Suddenly, a rather cold mocking voice caught him by surprise.

"What a heart warming scene. Too bad it's going to end."

A Fallen Angel slowly descended from the air, her black wings spreaded out in a rather showoff manner. Cursing in his mind, he switched to his Time Vision and he could see aside from Issei's presence, there were several incoming red human presence, probably exorcists, coming this way.

What a sticky situation he got himself into.

(Chapter end)

* * *

 **(1) Roba (** **ロバ** **)** **meaned donkey. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had been given the nickname Kozaru, meaning "little monkey", from his lord Oda Nobunaga because his facial features and skinny form resembled that of a monkey.**

 **Author's note: I decided to cut this chapter into two parts in order to write it more easier, hence the cliffhanger. Thank you for reading. And please, read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

 _The soap bubble flew_

 _It flew up to the roof_

 _But reaching the roof,_

 _It broke and was no more._

* * *

"Come with me, Asia and I will have mercy on that boy." Sneered the female Fallen Angel as both him and Asia were surrounded by about two dozens of exorcists, likely exiled ones.

Some time in the past before he became Agent of Mercy, he once had heard a woman said something about Bible God had infinite mercy. Now thinking back, he would have snorted if the situation had allowed him. Even if that dead God had truly had infinite mercy, than he and whoever continued his job, probably Michael, had done an absolutely terrible job in granting that mercy.

But then again, what was the color of mercy? For him, it was any colors akin to the end of a life. The last mercy that only a handful of people Death deemed derserved to receive.

"I-I understand, Raynare-sama." the hesistant answer of Asia snapped him back to the sticky situation he was in. Until now, Issei was still hiding behind the garbage cans. Some might consider him coward, but he thought the pervert had a smart choice.

Now he thought about it, how in the world these so-called exiled exorcists and this Fallen Angel didn't notice the devil's presence? Even without his Time Vision, the pervert was like a sore thumb wanting to be seen from his view and this bunch couldn't.

What a bunch of cannon-fodder.

Aside from that, now he knew the Fallen Angel's name. Not really big important discovery but meh, it was still something.

"Yodaka san... thank you for today... It was really fun. And…thank you for being friends with someone like me." Said the blond nun as she walked towards Raynare, tears started rolling on her cheeks again.

"Now, problem solved. With today's ritual, you will be freed from your suffering, Asia." Raynare made a psychotic and lecherous smile appear on her face before he turned to the exorcists "Three of you disposte this boy"

Well, he could see that coming so that wasn't really surprising. And did she just mention 'ritual'?

"But Raynare-sama...!" anything Asia wanted to said was stopped by a hard slap

"I said I would have mercy on that boy didn't mean the exorcists would have." Raynare's voice now became more and more sadistic as her twisted logic didn't surprise him.

And speaking about twisted, was he himself twisted? Hmm, perhaps on some level, his mind did have one or two screwed knots...

"You heard it, boys! Do it quick!" laughed the exorcist who he recognised was the same one who killed the girl yesterday before he took his leave with most of the cannon-fodders except three exorcists who pointed their guns at him

"Sorry kid." Said exorcist #1 with a non-caring shrugg

"Boss's order, no hard feeling." Said exorcist #2 as he cocked his gun

"No worry, this will be quick." Said exorcist #3 with a rather disturbing smile

Did these cannon-fodders realize that they only needed one person to say all of that? Nonetheless...

" **Boost!"**

... before he could act, the three cannon-fodders were knocked out cold from behind by a sudden ạttack coming from Issei. So the pervert wasn't the kind of people who would forsake the live of 'innocent' in order to save his own skin. A good heart perhaps, but that didn't make make him become less perverted.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked the perverted devil in concern, making him raised his eyesbrow a little bit. Perhaps...

"... Is it necessary for you to hit your acting friend that hard?"

"EH?!" Issei was clearly caught off guard by his question as he started checking the three cannon-fodders. The punch was really hard and it seemed it would take some time for them to wake up. Taking a small glance at the red gauntlet on Issei's arm, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly the kind of Sacred Gear was and what piece Issei was. As for him...

"You guys are just acting, aren't you? There is no way a human would have wings."

"Um... well..." Issei started stammering as he gave a kick to the guns on the ground

"And these guns are fake. Hmm, I wonder where the hidden camera is..."

... he was enjoying pulling the devil's leg, which also helped him pretend that he didn't believe in the supernatural

"Ah, well. So you're okay then... And yeah, it was all just an act... hahaha..." laughed Issei nervously "... Um... I-I gotta go now! See ya!"

That was easy, he snorted as he looked at the retreating form of the devil. Issei was clearly not the sharpest knife if his poor and full-of-holes act could deceive him. Turning his head briefly toward the sunset, he shrugged his shoulder a little bit before he started walking toward the direction of his house.

"Oh right, nearly forget about these loose ends..." he mumbled to himself before he picked up the guns...

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

... three shots and the three exiled exorcists fell into their final eternal sleep. Taking out three paper talismans, he slapped them on the coprses before muttered indifferently and turning away

"Sweet dream."

The three coprses were ignited in black flame before quickly turned into ashes.

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Now, he needed a change of clothes.

* * *

7 p.m

In front of the abandoned church stood a figure clad in a stripe t-shirt, a very dark blue coat with a scarf wrapping around his neck, dark blue jeans, black shoes and a fox mask covering his upper face as he eyes the abandoned building with a wary and calculating look. Besides the assumed numbers of Fallen Angel being 4 and exiled exorcists being two or three dozens and the name of 1 fallen angel, he knew next nothing about the church layout as the Time Vision couldn't provide him the layout. Thanked to that, stealth wasn't a good option.

Beside, with the large number of enemies in the church, he would eventually have to go loud no matter how hard he tried to go stealth. Damn those cannon-fodders.

Oh well, guess he would have to knock on the front door.

With a snap of his finger, his USP .45 tactical surpressed and a tactical knife appeared on his hands. Holding the knife in reversed grip with his left hand as his right hand held the handgun, he cautiously approached the church door with his Time Vision activated.

Stacking up at the door,he could see there were three hostiles behind the door. Flexing his left shoulder a little bit to get rid of the strain, he knocked the door three times.

*CREAK!*

The door slowly opened but before it could open fully, he forcefully shoved in and knifed the first hostile before shot down the other two.

Three down, a bunch more to go. After checking and disposing the corpses, he nimbly approached the sanctuary. Oddly enough, he had expected to see a bloody convention in the sanctuary yet all he could see was only one hostile. Not that he complained anyway. It would easy for him to...

"Ohohoho! What do we have here? An intruder, eh?" the maniac laugh reached his ears as a light bullet hit the ground in front of his right foot. Switching back to his normal vision, he was greeted with the same white hair psycho exorcist who had his goons tried to kill him this afternoon.

Ah, this might became troublesome, he grumbled internally as he calmly came into the mad exorcist's view.

"Ah! So the maggot has bravery!" the face of the exorcist twisted into a disturbing look as he ;et out a hollow and manica laugh "Now I give you five seconds to introduce yourself before I turned you into minced cheese!"

Minced cheese? Really? Shouldn't he say minced meat? Meh, whatever.

"Where's Asia?"

"The nun? So you are a servant of that devil? But you don't feel like a devil..." this got a raise of his eyesbrow. Devil? What did he mean? "Anyway, follow the stairs are under the altar. They lead to the place where the ritual is being conducted. You can have her coprse after we get her Sacred Gear!"

So that was what the ritual for. Their target was Asia's Sacred Gear. Having a Sacred Gear that could heal almost any wounds was something that many people would kill for. Though this made time become another one of his disadvantage.

"But since you didn't introduce yourself, you will have to stay here and become my minced cheese!" laughed the psychopath as he pointed his gun at him

' **Time Stop'**

But before any shot could be fire, the mad exorcist was frozen in what looked like a pale emeral bubble as he leisurely walked to behind his back, knife ready.

*BANG!**BANG!*

The moment the bubble disappeared, the exorcist fired two shots but all of them only hit the empty space

"Heh? Where is that shitty... ARGGHH!" anything the exorcist intended to say was replaced by a painful howl, courtesy of multiple stabs from behind before the psychopath was forced to the ground by a kick to his right knee, his light sword was taken from his hand and impaled through his right chest, keeping him on the ground.

"YOU SHITTY MAGGOT! HOW DARE YOU FUCK WITH ME?! THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I WILL GET KILL BY SOME UNKNOWN SHITTY MAGGOT! I WILL TEAR YOUR MASK ALONG WITH YOUR FACE BEFORE I TURNED YOU INTO MINCED MEAT!" screamed the exorcist as he let out a short sigh. What a vulgar mouth.

On a second note, now he used 'minced meat' instead of 'minced cheese'. Hmm, that was interesting.

Anyway, he probably should give him a thank-you gift for his insults as well as for what he had done. With that thought, he took out another talisman and slapped it on the bloody exorcist before giving him a farewell

"Sweet nightmare."

As he quickly followed the stairs, the painful scream when the mad exorcist was being burnt alive could still be heard until he reached the final steps led to an old door. Taking a peak from where he stood with Time Vision, he saw the place was full of exorcists, about twenty three, while on the elevated platform behind the four fallen angels was a cross, which had Asia crucified on it.

Crap, now he was in a difficult position. He was outnumbered and even with his strongest firearm, a Franchi SPAS-12, and his abilities, he was still in disavantage and he had no chance to take them out quietly. He needed a plan...

Suddenly, Asia's body started to glow as the blond nun started screamed in pain, thus snapping him out of his thought

"...Aaaaaah, nooooooo!"

"The ritual is finally complete!" Raynare cried in ectasy as her body glowed until it died down, revealing Asia's Sacred Gear on her hands.

Argh, fuck the plan. Switching his handgun to his shotgun as he charged his energy into his left hand, he kicked the old door opened hard, gaining the attention of all the hostile.

" **Time Blast!"**

As he released the charging energy in his left hand, a pale emeral explosion occured right in the middle of the place, killing many exorcists and making the corpses and objects float in the air before dropping down to the ground.

Ten down, a bunch more to go.

' **Time Rush'**

Everything around him turned emerald as things became slow. Using this, he dashed toward the still shocked fallen angels and aimed his shotgun barrel at the heads of the three unknown fallen angels

*BANG!**BANG!**BANG!*

He watched the flying pellets flew slowly in fascination. No matter how many times he had seen it, it still amazed him. Shaking his head, he turned to Raynare and aimed at her shoulders

*BANG!**BANG!*

"ARGHHH! MY ARMS! MY ARMS!"

At the moment everything returned to normal, both Raynare's arms was severed while her fellow fallen angels's head were blown off by the close shotgun shot. Blood splashed on the ground and turning the scene into a rather gruesome sight.

Done with the fallen angels.

"Kill him! Kill him!" the cries of the exorcists were the only warning before multiple gun shot were fired at him, with one bullet grazed his left shoulder but he just shrugged it off.

' **Time Shield'**

A bubble instanly covered around him and deflected all the bullets. Using this, he ran to the nearest exorcists, just in time the shield disappeared as he used the poor bastard as a meat shield.

Eleven down.

' **Time Dodge'**

Using the short burst of time speed, he dashed toward another exorcist and shot him down before he charged his energy.

Twelve down.

" **Time Blast!"**

Before the rest of his enemies could react, they was caught in another blast and floating in the air before dropped down, faliing into their last eternal sleep.

All enemies were down. And now...

"Asia!"

... he ran toward the severed arms and took off the rings before he put in on the blond nun's hands. Although the Sacred Gear had been returned, Asia was still becoming weaker and weaker.

"W-who... are.. you...?" muttered Asia weakly as he focused his mind until a clock appeared above her

 **00:00: 42**

She was dying. Using all of his remain energy, he summoned the familiar silver pocket watch before it turned into ember-liked light and transferred to the dying nun

 **00:05:27**

Five minutes?! That was all she deserved?! Was there no way to save her?

""W-who... are.. you...?" the question snapped him out of his thought as he took off his mask

"Y-yo-daka-san?"

The surprise on her face was quickly replaced by a happy yet sad and tearful happy expression that was more than enough to break any person's heart.

(Chapter end)

* * *

 **Authot's note: A fight like I promised and a cliffhanger as a bonus! For how Yodaka looked like in the battle, just look at this fic's cover image and you wil get the idea. Anyway, thank you for reading and please, read and review! Your opinions will help me inprove my fic greatly**


	6. Chapter 6

**Music used in this chapter (the link to the songs can be found in my profile):**

 **1/ Bokura no Let-it-be (Our Let-it-be) _ Itou Kashitarou**

 **Chapter 6:**

 _I lose myself as I search for an answer_

 _And a Happy End is far, far away_

 _But I tell myself that surely, I'll reach it soon_

 _I've got to struggle and believe in myself!_

* * *

 ***Play music: Bokura no Let-it-be _ Itou Kashitarou***

 **00:03:11**

"I... am dying, right?" It was more like a statement than a question as he frowned. He wasn't exactly the type of person who was good at words and this wass the second time he had a conversation with a person who was prepare to go to the afterlife. Most of the time, it was when after people breathed their last breath.

Or more precisely, their souls.

"... I... can't give you more time..." he gave her a solemn nod as Asia, who now was leaning against the cross, just nodded her head in acceptance. If what she had endured in the past was really true then many people would considered five minutes he could give her was injusticed and not fair.

But then again, Death cared not of the status, wealth or karma. Death only did what needed to be done. Fair or not, it was just all about the matter of perspective.

And in Death's eyes, five minutes were all he was allowed to give her because it was all she deserved

 **00:02:32**

"I'm sorry" he continued with regret in his tone

"It's okay, Yodaka-san." a comforting smile plastered on her face as she gazed at him with a look of endearment. To be able to smile even when standing in front of the final end, it was a trait all human beings but only a few of them could do it. "It's not your fault that you can't save me..."

Perhaps not, but then again it was still partially his fault since if he had come only a minute earlier, her life could still be saved.

"Yodaka-san... thank you..." what Asia said next nearly caught him by surprise, though he didn't show it "... thank you... for being friend with someone... like me..."

Her breath became more and more shallow as he solemnly gave her a sad nod of acknowledgement.

He could hear the rain started falling outside. Was the sky crying for the girl? Or was the sky sympathizing with her tragic fate?

 **00:02:13**

"... Yodaka-san... Can you... hug me?... I feel... a little cold..." even though she was severely weakened, she was still able to look very embarrassed as he quietly crouched down before he awkwardly wrapped his arms around the blond nun's her slim waist. The girl slightly stiffed the moment her back touched his chest before her body relaxed and rested her head against the crook of his neck, taking all the comfort he could give her in the her last moments.

 **00:01:37**

"Thank you... Yodaka-san... You're my first friend... And you are so kind... You're too kind... for someone like me..." Asia nuzzled her head against his neck, her face flushed a bright shade of crimson as she closed her eyes with a peaceful expression. If this wasn't her final minute, what he was seeing now would have been one of the most heart-warming things he had ever seen.

The clock continued to count down as her life kept wasting away by every second. Nothing could stop death. Not even him.

The sounded of thunder boomed outside as if laughing at him, at the 'mercy' he could only give to someone.

 **00:00:47**

"... Yodaka-san... If I am born again... as a new person..." a hopeful yet worried look filled her eyes as she gazed at him, her lips slightly quivered "... will you be... my friend again?"

"... I will... " and he truly meant it. She had proven herself to him and that was enough. "Promise?" Asia raised her pinky finger

"Promise." He entwined her finger with his own. A promise that he would keep as long as whoever judged her sould decided that she would be reborn

The smile on her face was radiant, as if she had just finally found her most precious treasures.

 **00:00:9**

"God... thank you..." Asia drawled out a weak prayer "... for letting... me... meet... Yodaka...-san... one last time..."

Even now, her faith in the dead Bible God was still strong. The tears now were rolling anew on her cheeks.

 **00:00:00**

And with a final breath, her body went limped as Asia Argento peacefully passed away.

Gently liked an autumn wind.

And he could feel the water of the heavy rain started leaking in the church as some droplets were rolling on his cheeks and his vision became slightly blurry.

 ***End music***

* * *

 _Dark. Empty. Cold._

 _Asia found herself surrounded by blackness and the void as the only thing protected her from the chilling cold around her was the warm feeling of Yodaka's hug lingered on her skin._

 _So this was the afterlife? Was this her end?_

" _ **It depends on your choice."**_ _A cold raspy voice reached her ear_

" _Huh?" Asia turned around to find the source of the voice but found none_

 _Suddenly, the coldness increased tenfold making her shiver. The sound of chains clanking sent a chill to her spine. The heavy stench of decay nearly made her gag as a floating humanoid figure covered in black tattered coat with chains being dragged on the ground appeared in front of her. The seer existence of the being was enough to force her on her knees, her shouldered shook uncontrollable._

" _ **Tell me, do you fear Death?"**_

 _Too terrified by the being, Asia could only nod silently._

" _ **Good. Very honest. That's a good start."**_ _Despite its cold raspy voice, Asia could feel the being was being amused by her response. For what reason, she didn't know. Gathering all of her courage, she asked timidly_

" _W-who are you, sir?A-and what is this place?"_

" _ **A polite one, aren't you?"**_ _the being landed on the ground as the chains wrapping around its torso_ _ **"I am Death, the one governed the dead, the ultimate end or the new beginning. As for this place, this place is my living room, a rift between consciousness and unconsciousness."**_

" _Y-you're Death" said Asia with a small amount of stuttering "So you are going to judge me?"_

" _ **That's the job of deities concerning death or in your case, Archangel Michael. It's his job to judge whether you will go to the afterlife, be reborn or to be damned."**_

" _S-so what is Lord Michael's judgement, Death-san?"_

" _ **He haven't given any judgement on your soul. Though I can't say the same when you were alive."**_ _Said Death cryptically as Asia looked confused_ _ **"If you want to know why, then you shall have to find the answer yourself"**_

" _But I am already dead..." said Asia sadly. The warm feeling of Yodaka's hug was slowly disappearing as a tear rolled on her cheek._

" _ **Yes, and that led to the reason why you're here instead of meeting Michael."**_ _This quickly gained her attention "_ _ **I want give you a choice or an offer, depend on how you want to view."**_

" _A choice?" Asia looked puzzled. With a wave of his hand, a purple door appeared in crimson flame, making her jumped back despite her kneeling position_

" _ **If you want to choose to be judged by Michael, step through this door. It will lead you straight to him, though your fate will entirely depend on his judgement."**_

" _And what is my other choice, Death-san?" Asia took a look at the purple door nervously before she turned back to Death_

" _ **The other choice is to become my Agent."**_ _This caught Asia by surprise_ _ **"An Agent of Mercy."**_

" _Agent... of... Mercy? Umm... but Death-san, what does that mean?"_

 **"Basically** , **you will be revived to work for me and deliver my mercy to a few humans that truly deserve it."** _Asia nodded her head in understanding, though she didn't prepare for what Death spoke next_ _ **"Kashitarou Yodaka, your friend, is my very first Agent of Mercy. You will be the second if you accept my offer."**_

" _Yodaka-san is an Agent of Mercy?!" Asia's eyes widened by Death's revelation "Death-san! So that means Yodaka-san was..."_

" _ **Dead and revived? No, he is still physically alive when I offered him the job."**_

" _But... why me, Death-san?"_

" _ **Why not?"**_

" _I mean..." said Asia as she tried to not sound offended "... probably there are people deserve this job more than me..."_

" _ **In my eyes, you're deserved more than them. I need someone can understand the hardship my first Agent had gone through and look after him, making sure that he won't be broken."**_

" _ **And more importantly,"**_ _as Asia was thinking about what Death meant about her friend's hardship and 'broken', Death continued_ _ **"You're the perfect candidate for the type of 'mercy' I want to deliver."**_

 _Type of 'mercy'? The more Asia thought about if, the more she became confused._

" _ **So what's your choice, Asia Argento? The judgement? Or become my Agent?"**_

 _Asia looked torn. This was the first time she had to choose something for her own future and the feeling... it was so overwhelming._

 _And she felt scared._

" _Death-san, if I become an Agent of Mercy... will Yodaka-san think any less of me?"_

 _A cold yet amused chuckle._

" _ **Maybe yes. Maybe no. The posibilities of the outcome is endless."**_ _What Death saided frightened her even more_ _ **"But if this helps, I want you to remember the promise between you and him."**_

 _The promise... between her and him..._

 _[... Yodaka-san... If I am born again... as a new person... will you be... my friend again?]_

 _[... I will.]_

 _[Promise?]_

 _[Promise.]_

" _Thank you for your kindness, Death-san." Asia gave the being in front of her a bow of gratitude and nodding her head "I accept your offer."_

" _ **Very good. My welcome gift shall meet you outside this realm and Yodaka shall teach you about your new power. And now, off you go"**_

 _The long cold raspy chuckle of Death was the last thing she heard before a small hourglass appeared in front of Asia before everything around her became white._

(Line break)

Opening her eyes, the first thing greeted Asia's eyes was the unfamiliar ceiling instead of the ceiling of the place held the ceremony as she felt her body was engufted by a comfortable warmth and an endearing smell. Sitting up from her position, she found herself was in an old yet clean futon in a small room. The only furniture in the room was an old wooden chabudai **(1)** with some zabuton **(2)** , a desk located near the window, a bookshelf filled with a lot of books next to a small shrine which had a photo of a woman with dark brown hair, a small closet near where she sat.

Looking at her hands, Asia couldn't help but ponder. So now she was an Agent of Mercy? So now she was brought back to life? Where is this place

"HMMPP! HMMPP! HMMPP! HMMPP!"

The moment Asia turned her head toward the source of the strange noise, the blond girl nearly jumped back in fright. In the corner behind her , Raynare was binded tightly in a rather scandalous way, her mouth was covered by a piece of duct tape as the black hair fallen angel was hanged onto the ceiling by a rope. As Asia slowly approached the struggling fallen angel, she noticed something that she hadn't seen before: a thin golden necklace with an hourglass-liked emblem on Raynare's neck.

Just what in the name of God, thought Asia as she shakily touched the duct tape covering Raynare's mouth...

* * *

At a payphone not really far from their, a young man with a tired look fished out an odd coin, inserted it into the payphone before pressing the numbers.

*RING!**RING!**RING!*

" _Hello, who is on the other side?"_

"Amaterasu-sama, it's..." but before the young man could finish, his right ear was nearly deafened by a happy... squeal

" _Yodaka-kun! It's rare to see you call directly to me like this time? Do you have any problem? Or did the devils cause any trouble for you?"_

"While there are things I need to report to you, that's not the main reason, Amaterasu-sama. The main reason for this call is I just want to ask for your help concerning another person."

" _Oh, and who is this person?"_

"A new friend of mine, Asia Argento. She was a nun back taken in be a bunch of fallen angels and exiled exorcist then but now, she is my co-worker."

" _Co-worker?"_

"She is now the second Agent of Mercy, Amaterasu-sama."

(Chapter end)

* * *

 **(1) Chabudai: a short-legged table used in traditional Japanese homes**

 **(2)** **Zabuton: a Japanese cushion for sitting**

 **Author's note: Phew, another chapter done and conclude the first arc. Please read and review! Your opinions will be very appreciate since it will help me improve my story.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Music used in the chapter:**

 **HEAVEN_Itou Kashitarou**

 **Chapter 7:**

 _Death is given equally but remember, die in vain is still a sin._

* * *

In the night, the abandoned church was being devoured by black flames. The accursed flames crackled, as if they were laughing at the sins they were burning and at the person stood in front of it.

His plan... His grand foolproof plan to get the blond Holy Maiden with her healing Sacred Gear had crumbled to dust.

Who?! Who dared to disrupt his plan?!

Despite his fury, the black flames just kept cakling tauntingly at the figure as the church was being gradually reduced to ashes in front of his eyes.

* * *

Tension.

This was the first time he could feel the heavy tension in his home since when his mother had passed away. A change in deed, though an unwelcome one if he might add.

The reason?

"W-what do you mean... by that?"

The black hair fallen angel now sat opposite him and a nervous looking Asia, her shoulders were visibly shaking as he could see that her eyes had a hint of fear even though she refused to look straight at his eyes.

He didn't blame her. Sitting in front of the very same person who had just taken down a whole den with a power they couldn't understand and blown off both of her arms with two shotgun shots wasn't exactly a... comfortable experience. And not to mention...

"I mean exactly what I said. You're now ours or more precisely, Asia's servant. That necklace, the brand marking you as Asia's servant, will follow you until Death deem you deserve to be free to make sure that you can't harm or betray her in whatever way you intend to do."

... knowing that Death had saved her only to have her freedom ripped away and became Asia's 'welcome gift' was anything but pleasant. It was rare to see Death personally deliver punishment but when he did... no one wanted to receive his punishment.

A fate worse than death. That was what they would receive.

"So now... I am her..." the tips of Raynare's fingers slightly touched the necklace as the black hair beauty cast a hateful look at Asia, who seemed ready to jump back and hide behind his back "... slave."

Hearing Raynare spat the last word as if it was poison nearly made him snort. The master now became the slave and vice versa. Oh the irony of the fate or karma or anything like that. Though to be honest, he did find the situation quite... fascinating. A twisted vile sadistic master now became the servant of an innocent pure slave girl. The incoming conflicts and bickers that he had read in books...

The fascination immediately vanished the moment he thought about it thoroughly. The situation wasn't fascinating, at all. The only thing he would receive from their conflicts and bickers wouldn't be amusement but only immense headaches. Something he had no desire to receive.

"... B-but... having someone as a slave to other... is wrong. Can I free her?" said Asia timidly only to receive a shake of his head. Even under the glare of Raynare, she still managed to hold her ground and hadn't hid behind his back, yet. This was quite a welcome change.

"Death will be the one decide, not you or her."

And speaking of the blond nun, he should start her training as soon as he could. Accidentally having some random people frozen in freeze-time-bubbles in the middle of daylight because she couldn't control her power wasn't something funny.

But more importantly, he had to tell his new co-worker 'the truth' . Ignorance was bliss. But only when the illusion was shattered by the truth, a person could move on and change. For better or for worse, no one knew but it would be better than forever trapped in the fog of lies and ignorance.

But the two important questions still remained. How would the blond nun react to the truth? And would she change for better or for worse? The truth could be very ugly.

"Don't you know any way to free me?" growled Raynare as she frustratingly directed her glare at him. For the first time since the start of the conversation, her eyes directly met his eyes.

Through a glare. But still, it was a progress nonetheless. The only drawback was it made her look less attractive, and the desperation in her eyes only made it worse.

And for her question, hadn't she heard what he had said earlier? Must he repeated that again?

"You will be free when Death deems you deserve to be free..."

Yes, he must. Or else this conversation would become longer than it should be or worse, went nowhere. And his patience currently was pretty thin now. For a few seconds, he was tempted to tell her that he prefered

Why would he have to go through this anyway?

"... but if it is any consolation, I recommend you not to do anything stupid."

The glare increased a little bit.

"That is not a fucking consolation." Snarled Raynare bitterly

Oh, it wasn't? Hmm, it did sound more like an advice than a consolation. His mistake then.

"It will help you in the long run." He said simply with a shrug. And he truly meant it.

That aside, with two more mouths to feed, the incoming financial problems might become a real pain in the ass even with the help he had asked from Amaterasu and in a brighter scenario, both the nun and the fallen angel managed to find a job. But given Asia's clumsiness and Raynare's current attitude, he seriously doubted it.

Also, since he had requested the sun goddess to enroll Asia in Kuoh Academy, there might be unwanted clashes between her and the devils due to their knowledge of her former alliance. While it wouldn't be bloody, it certainly could be unpleasant. In a different scenario, they might try to recruit/trick her into a peerage without Death's agreement and blessing. If that happen... things might become very ugly to the devils in Kuoh and Izanagi forbid, the devil faction. More reasons to tell the blond nun about 'the truth' then, for the sake of everyone. And there was the option to reveal his status as representation of Shinto faction, too...

Man, this was troublesome. But as he mulled over his options, something caught his attention. Blue rose petals gradually appeared before gathering and creating a small silver hourglass as it floated almost lazily in front of a very shocked and surprised Asia.

"Y-Yodaka-san? What is this?" asked Asia as she hesistantly reached toward the floating hourglass. On the other side of the table, Raynare quirked an eyebrow, proving that she couldn't see the floating hourglass.

"Just what the hell are you talking?" asked Raynare with irritation only to meet ignorance

"Your new job, Asia." Came his dry reply as he couldn't help but wonder. Just what kind of mercy would the blond nun would deliver? Though one thing he knew for sure it might affect the girl, very much. The mercy of Death might not be the same mercy Asia thought they would give or receive.

"Don't you dare ignore me!"

Oh, she wanted to be noticed? Okay.

"Asia-san, please order Raynare to behave and watch the house." He nodded his head toward the infuriated black hair fallen angel

"I am not a pet! And why the hell should I listen to her ord-Urgh!"

A rather large lump appeared on her forehead, courtesy by the butt of his handgun, as Raynare fell on the floor, totally out cold.

"Why did you do that, Yodaka-san? That wasn't necessary..." asked the blond nun as he started tying the black hair fallen angel before he stuck a piece of duct tape on her mouth.

And about her questions? No, it wasn't necessary. But he had done a favor for both of him and the fallen angel. And it solved the problem quickly. That was what counted.

"Let's go, Asia-san." He inclined his head after he had finished tying the fallen angel. But before he could move his muscle, a small black drift opened as three black cases drop down with three loud 'thud' before the drift closed itself.

' _Happy birthday early, Yodaka-kun. Amaterasu.'_ Were written on a note stuck on the first two cases.

For the first time, he felt a little annoyed with the Shinto sun goddess's tendency to confuse his birthday. Why didn't she mistake it with an earlier date this time? He would have more options to deal with those cannon-fodders back then, not just relying on his shotgun and his power. Time Blast wasn't something could be cast continuously without backlash.

A sigh escaped his lips. What done was done, no use in chewing it. He could check these things later as there was a more important matter now.

* * *

 ***Play music: HEAVEN_Itou Kashitarou***

Broken. Hopeless. Despair.

It was all the girl she could feel as she stood on the rooftop floor of the hospital, looking at the shining stars. Their gentle light now could only give her more pains instead of the comfort.

Why?

Just why?

Why did he have to suffer such fate? Was it the price for the recovery of her eyes?

Her eyes turned to the ring he had put on her left ring finger, the line 'Always with you' inscribed on it now felt more like a taunt of fate than a promise. Clutching the rail of the balcony, she leaned forward...

Suddenly, a pair of arms hugged her from behind and pulled her back from the rail.

' _Don't.'_ A too familiar voice reached her ears

She turned back and the moment the owner of the pair of arms met her eyes...

"Kazuya-kun!"

' _... In a world when we're allowed to search for the meaning of our lives, isn't it a bit early bit to say good bye?'_

She tried to reach toward him as he stepped back.

She tried to say but she just couldn't find her voice.

' _Live, Mizuki-chan. For both you and me. And I'm always with you.'_

With a final sad smile, the young man started dissipating into petals of blue rose and flew toward the sky.

Unable to hold back anymore, her knees shook before they met the floor as she broke down and cried her heart out.

"Mizuki-chan! Mizuki-chan!" The door of the rooftop opened forcefully as her mother emerged from behind "The operation is success! Kayuza-kun will live!"

"Wha-what do you mean, kaa-san?" she just couldn't believe her ears anymore as she desperately prayed what her mother said wasn't a lie

"The operation is success! Kayuza-kun will live! Come on, Mizuki-chan!"

* * *

"Good job on your first 'client', Asia-san."

"Ehehe..." the blond nun smile with a small amount of bashfulness "It's nothing Yodaka-san."

She was really lucky. The 'mercy' she had to deliver was the mercy of a new beginning, a second chance. And it really suited her. He had worried that the 'mercy' she had to deliver would affect her negatively given his first impression of his first delivery but now, that worry had vanished into the air.

But he couldn't help but wonder, how many people would receive the mercy Asia would deliver? He had been an Agent of Mercy for six years yet the number of his 'clients' so far was no more than a hundred, and not to mention that Asia's mercy was way more precious than his...

"Umm, Yodaka-san. If you don't mind me asking... why do you have to wear that mask?" the question coming from the blond nun snapped him out of his train of thought

"My mask... is a gift from Death... " he said absently "... and because I feel oddly familiar with it."

"Auu?" Asia seemed very confused after hearing his question and he didn't blame her. If even him couldn't understand why he felt oddly familiar with his mask, how could he explain it to her?

Shaking his head slightly as he decided to drop the matter, he took a glance at the screen of a cellphone in his hand

' _From: Kiriyama Kazuya_

 _To: Kawahara Mizuki_

 _I love you.'_

This thing wasn't necessary anymore.

' _Delete message? Yes/No'_

' _Yes.'_

' _Deleted.'_

With a light sigh, he gently tossed the cellphone into the air as the cellphone dissolved into blue rose petals and rode the night wind toward the shining stars in the sky.

 ***Music end***

(Chapter end)


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

 _Blessings for your birthday_

 _Blessings for your everyday_

 _Face forward until the very last second._

* * *

A new day came. Same craps, different day, with new problems incoming his way. You brought down an enemy only to potentially have another one much worse replaced sooner or later. As long as rule of two sides coin still remained in the universe, peace was pretty much a temporary thing to him.

"Yodaka-san, what does the Kuoh Academy look like?"

Despite the lack of sleep due to her excitement of knowing she was going to attend school, Asia still seemed pretty energetic. Even though she was walking next to him, the enthusiasm was basically radiating from her feet and her posture. He wished he could have the same positive attitude just like hers.

"It's quite big with even a small forest near there. Originally an all-girls private school but became co-ed school before I came. You will see for yourself when you arrive."

"Will I make a lot of new friend there?"

For a very brief moment, he could swear that the former nun's eyes were literally sparkling. And for a second he felt a little bad that he might disappoint her but he just shrugged it off. She needed to know.

"Perhaps. Just remember it can be considered as the devils's headquarter. Be careful."

Asia's enthusiasm seemed went down a little bit

"You seem don't trust them, Yodaka-san." The blond girl said with a mixed expression on her face as he discreetly peered at her

"So you trust them then?"

The mixed expression now became clearer on Asia's face, a sign clearly showing that the blond girl was having an inner conflict between her thoughts

"No... It just... I was taught the devils were evil but... Father Freed..."

Father Freed... Oh right, the vulgar mouth exiled exorcist. His name nearly slipped his mind. And speaking of that psychopath, it seemed he had somehow survived and escaped if the lack of his remain indicated anything. Troublesome. He should have given that psychopath a bonus of shotgun shells before turning him into a black living bonfire. Next time then.

And speaking of troublesome, there was this 'devil' Freed had mentioned. From the way he spoke, he could only assume this 'devil' was somewhat in a deal with the fallen angels or with only Freed concerning Asia's dead body. The most plausible scenario he could think was the devil wanted Asia in his/her peerage, but it raised another question: why would a devil want to have a piece without her Twilight Healing? Devils might not be evil, but ther sure didn't act if they couldn't get something out. Which led to a bloodier scenario: the devil would break the deal, annihilate the den and return the Sacred Gear to Asia. Not only tying up loose ends but also having a valuable asset in the peerage along with her loyalty, killing two birds with one stone.

But why did he keep having the feeling that he was missing something very important in this story? In whatever scenario he could think about, everything was in their right place and there was no more room for more pieces.

Just what exactly did he miss?

With a short sigh, he made a mental note to remind himself to extract as many intels as he could from Raynare when he got back. With her information, he could at least have a better view of the whole scenario and have some preparation.

"... what he had done is bad while the brown hair devils he seemed not a bad person so... I... I..." Asia seemed shaken as she tried to express what she thought, efectively kicked his mind back to reality. Guess he should cut her some slack?

"We're all colored by our perceptions, our experiences and our perspectives, Asia-san. Even I can not claim a complete lack of bias myself. The best things I can recommend you are to be on your guard but keep an open mind and don't do anything stupid."

"I understand, Yodaka-san." Asia's enthusiasm had made it way back to her eyes after hearing what he had said.

"Also, don't spurt out the supernatural things freely in the public and not a word about being an Agent of Mercy within the devils's earshot. It will only bring unnecessary troubles."

Asia seemed embarassed as she giggled bashfully. Despite having told her before hand, he still decided to remind her in hope her honesty wouldn't bite his ass later.

A wind flew past him as it naughtily picked up his fedora hat from the top of his head and gently kept it afloat in the air under the clear blue sky. Quite a nice peaceful scene, no matter how temporary it was as he raised his hand to catch the falling fedora hat.

* * *

Not really far behind them, a girl with long orange brown hair was standing, her left hand clenched tightly as her eyes adopted a sad and hurted look when she looked at the pair in front of her

"... Why, Yodaka-kun?... Why?"

* * *

This was quite uncomfortable.

Just like his prediction, the attention of many students has been quickly gathered by the appearance of the new face, Asia Argento. But he had forgotten one thing: that attention was also directed at him by extension. Usually, he would just ignore it, but in this case...

"Hey, who is that guy?"

"Is he another transfer student like her?"

"He looks so mysterious yet charming!"

... the fact that many other students treated him as if he was a new student prevented him from doing that. And here he had thought the day he had snapped when Naoto had kept pestering him about finding a girlfriend had gathered enough unwanted attention.

Also, whoever just said that last comment, he recommended that person to go to an eye hospital and check their 'windows to the soul'.

"Hmm, why do I feel like I had seen him somewhere... Nah, probably just a deja vu"

Whoever just said it, congratulation! Despite the fact that person could only have the feeling of seeing him somewhere beforehand, that was still something.

"Wow! Just look at her, Issei! She looks so cute!"

Ah, here come the reactions he had been looking forward to seeing as he carefully taking a subtle glance at the infamous perverted trio or more specifically, Issei. Hmm, shock, surprise, panic, curiosity and a forced smile.

Honestly, he felt a little disappointed since he had expected a somewhat more comical reaction from the pervert. Perhaps he had put too much hope on that.

"Yodaka-san, is that..."

"Yes. Let's just go." Before Asia could point at Issei and potentially gathered more unnecessary attention, he ushered the blond girl to the main building.

* * *

Home Economics class, a course that, simply put, prepared a person for 'family life'. It included the basics of food preparation, home management liked chores and effective money budgeting and the importance of 'Family' as a unit both in itself, and its function in the society. A class he considered tedious given that he had been earning money and living by himself since he had been twelve. But for the first time, all of his mind focused in the lesson. The reason? The sheer amount of pointy looks or even a few baleful stares coming from the male population of the academy kept flying toward him, no thanked to Naoto. However tedious the class was to him, it was still a great distraction for his mind and way better than had his head on the table and dropped off, no matter how tempting it was.

As for the pair of Kuoh's Onee-sama, it was as clear as crystal that they were cautiously gauging him and trying to determine whether he was a threat or not under their normal facade. Couldn't blame them given the enrollment of Asia , not to mention the former blond nun had been coincidentally placed in the same class as Issei.

And speaking of the devils, a grim yet not impossible scenario just appeared in his mind: the devil Freed had mentioned was none than his crimson hair classmate. Despite what he had seen in the dead girl's house, there was nothing to prove that it hadn't been just an act. But of course, he had nothing to prove otherwise.

Oh dear. He had truly become too paranoid.

* * *

"... I have to choose the ones that I feel the most comfortable with?" Asia asked with uncertainty before receiving a light nod for his answer.

The moment the bell rang, he had promptly taken off and dragged Asia to the rooftop despite various looks sent to his back before he sealed off the area with some barrier talismans and a soundproof talisman. And now, said blond girl was sitting in front of all of the handguns his arsenal possessed after she had finished her lunch. Since she was basically had next to nothing to defend herself, give her a firearm was the best option for now.

"... But... I don't know how to use these... And isn't it dangerous and illegal to hold these weapons?" Asia's tone returned to her usual timid tone.

Well, Japan did have very strict laws concerning weapons. But if you had to choose between the law and your skin, the law could go to hell.

"It will give you a mean to defend yourself. Just don't wave it around or shooting random people"

Asia looked scandalous, probably due to how casually he said that.

"It's awful! Why would anyone do that?"

Worldwide, tons of people would do that, though he decided to keep his mouth shut. At least now he knew he could entrust a gun to the blond girl.

"Just pick the guns you feel the most comfortable. I will decide which one should you have."

Meanwhile, he should check his late birthday gifts. With a snap of his fingers, three black cases appeared as he started checking the contents of the first two cases that came from the Shinto Sun Goddess. The first case had a Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine gun with a full set of attachments and what was this...

"Thermal Scope... Nice." He muttered when he looked at the beautifully written manual in the case. This scope would be very handy. Meanwhile, the second case had many odd-looking flashbangs and different types of breaching charges with a guarantee from the god of the sea and storms, Susanoo, that they could 'break through any kinds of barrier or door'. He probably had come up with this after the time when his prank had made Amaterasu mad and gone into Ama-no-Iwato the second time.

*whistle*

Turning to the last case, he let out a whistle the moment he noticed the sigil on it. Whatever in the case, it certainly could wreak enough ha...

"I'm done, Yodaka-san!"

Ah, perhaps he would check it later. Let see, the blond girl had chosen for herself his favorite USP. 45 and...

"You will use this one." With a snap of his fingers, the second gun along with the handguns Asia didn't choose vanished.

"Au, I really like the silver color of that gun." Asia looked like a lost kicked puppy as he gave her a blank look. A clumsy girl could be tripped by nothing had a Desert Eagle to defend herself? That was one hell of a recipe for unwelcome troubles.

"Okay, now I will teach you how to use it..."

* * *

"Still nothing for now." Rias let out a sigh as her gaze was glued to the screen on front of her while her hands held a controller.

"The direction they're taking is to the northeast of the town." Said Koneko in her usual monotone as she checked the map while munching some chocolate

"It's not that I am complaining, Buchou..." Kiba Yuuto, the knight piece of Rias, raised his hand "... but can you please tell me why you decided to secretly watch him instead of invite him here and explain?"

"Information is power, Yuuto." The crimson hair devil said sagely, her eyes never left the screen "Have some info on our new face before invite them here will help us. And you do remember that this male student is the same person Issei had told us about the other day, right?"

The blond prince of Kuoh let out a sigh

"I understand that, Buchou. But why don't we have a familiar follow him?"

"It is most likely that our familiars will be noticed. We know next to nothing about his ability so we can't risk it."

A comical sweatdrop formed behind Kiba's head

"And you think he will not notice a crimson remote control flycam that keeps folowing him?" asked the knight incredulously

"Shindaichi-kun in 'The Great Detective's Apprentice' used it many time and had never been noticed."

Another sweatdrop.

"It's just a manga, Buchou." Now Kiba had an urge to pinch his nose but he decided to hold it back

"Shush, Yuuto. He haven't noticed it since they left the school ground so it's fine." Replied Rias casually as Kiba could detect a hint of unrestrained enthusiasm in her voice "Beside, controlling this flycam like Shindaichi-kun in the manga is really fun!"

"Fine, I give up." Said Yuuto as he raised his hands up in surrender. Sometimes he just couldn't understand what his King was thinking. "And why did you join her, Koneko-chan?"

"Buchou gave me a new special chocolate." Came the simple reply from the petite girl, making him let out another sigh. He should have guessed.

"Oh he took a turn to an alley!" said Rias excitedly as if she had just found an evidence that could solve a big case. All the eyes now focused at the screen as the flycam took the turn...

*CRASH!*

... only to see a rock colided with the flying drone and took the flycam down by surprise

"Nooooo! My baby! It's the same one that Shindaichi-kun had used in the live-action version!" wailed Rias as her knight couldn't help but let out one more sigh. He had warned her.

" _Ahem. One, two, three, four. Testing, testing."_

The voice coming from the screen quickly gathered the attention back to the screen,

" _To whoever controlled this flycam..."_

The more he looked at that pair of eyes on the screen, the more uncomfortable the three devils felt. Despite the tiredness, the eyes of the male student made them feel like they were being seen through their very own souls.

" _... I am going to sue you for this."_ And with that, the screen went black.

Cue facefaults.

(Chapter end)


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 _The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any._

* * *

Tonight the moon was really beautiful, a sign that Tsukuyomi probably was having a busy night. Unlike her sister, the Shinto moon goddess had a little more relaxed attitude and preferred shochu to nihonshu **(1)**. And speaking of the Shinto moon goddess, sometimes he couldn't understand why or how people depicted Tsukuyomi as a god instead of a goddess, not to mention the 'marriage' and the reason of the day and night.

Putting his guitar aside, he laid down on the rooftop and gazed at the sky. Ever since he had been fired from one of his jobs and Asia had become an Agent of Mercy, Amaterasu had forced him to stop working part-time in order to have more time to take care of himself as well as the former nun while the living money would be provided by the Shinto. The money was actually a benefit of his position but he had turned it down. After all, you wouldn't understand how precious something was until you earned it with your very own hands...

... or until you lost it.

Though he admitted the situation was rather ironic. Before, he barely had time to himself but now, he had more time though the itching feeling that he kept getting was something pretty annoying

"Will I be released soon?" the voice of Raynare came from behind as he just shrugged lightly. She did know that pestering him with that question everyday wouldn't shorten her punishment, didn't she? So

"You can always hope."

"I don't need hope." Said the fallen angel through her gritted teeth "I need answer."

He let out a sigh.

"And I am not the one who can give you the answer. You will have to find the answer yourself."

"I don't have time for that shit! I want to be free..."

"And then what? Go to Kokabiel? Or try to redeem yourself and clean your name so that you can go back to Azazel ? Either way, good luck."

"You and that nun can help me with that power of yours!" he could sense a hint of desperation in her tone. And what was the smell that he kept getting from the fallen angel? "I can give you anything you want! Even my body and my life!"

Did she just suggest she would become his servant in trade for his help? So what was the point of trying to free herself from being Asia's servant only to become a servant again? Just how screwed her mind was?

Suddenly, the fallen angel lunged forward and straddled him down before he could react, her breath had a heavy smell of...

"Don't you find me attractive?"

... Ame-no-Uzume's sake. It seemed she had found the stack of sake the Shinto Goddess of Dawn had sent him as a birthday gift and wasted herself. Since he was underage, he hadn't touched it so he had no idea how heavy that thing was. Though now he believe he just got the answer for that.

Perhaps being underage had some certain advantages then?

"Hey, answer me! Urg!"

The wasted girl slumped down onto him, completely out cold as he gently pushed her aside before giving a thumb up to a mirror image of him who just simply nodded before dissipating into the air

Man, he loved his power.

A shooting star flew in the sky. A sign showing that a miracle had just been delivered. He couldn't help but wonder who was the lucky person.

Would one day he receive that miracle?

* * *

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. It was a rule every male must remember if they wanted their life become less painful. But of course, there were people who were foolish enough to forget that. And of course, disastrous wouldn't be enough to describe the consequence.

" **What do you mean by you had never received my notification, Gremory?"**

Sirzech could feel sweats pouring behind his back now. This was much more worse than dealing with a scorned Grayfia. Hell, the goddess before him made him shiver in fear.

"The notification has never reached me Amaterasu-dono." The crimson hair said carefully "Perhaps..."

" **Are you implying I am lying then, Gremory?"** Sirzech could feel the heat in the room just increased ten-fold **"That I never did send you a notification?"**

Sirzechs raised his hands slightly in an attempt to calm the clearly enraged Shinto Sun Goddess down

"I didn't mean it like that, Amaterasu-dono. I just mean perhaps there was a... problem with the transfer..."

" **I knew the transfer had problem that time, Gremory. That was why Strife had offered to personally bring the notification to this place and he had given it to your Grayfia bitch, Gremory."** The Shinto Sun Goddess was nearly growling right now **"So unless you decide to assume one of The Four Horsemen had lied, call your bitch and have her answer right now!"**

Oh dear.

"I will call her" said Sirzech, his voice evidently harden "But I must ask you stop calling my Queen..."

" **That bitch reaps what she had sown, Gremory. And I am sure Kayoda was grateful for hers and your** _ **regret.**_ **"** The smirk on Amaterasu's face was almost sardonic, her voice dripped with sarcasm **"Now** _ **please**_ **stop testing my patience and call that bitch right now. You're already walking on the thin ice, Gremory."**

* * *

 ***The next day, rooftop, lunch time***

He should have foreseen this. Really.

"Auu, why can't I hit a target?" The blond girl couldn't help but let out a tired whine.

Fifteen shots, fifteen miss. If he counted the yesterday's shots, Asia had missed thirty five shots in total and zero hit. While the former nun was able to grasp on how to use her new power rather quickly for someone like her, her skill with handgun was an entire different story thanked to her lack of confidence. Perhaps she needed some kind of motivation? But what kind of motivation could he provide? Hmm...

"Asia, if you can't get a single accuracy shot in the next five shot, I won't let you have lunch."

Now he could see an invisible black cloud started booming above her head as the blond girl slumped down. Was that too harsh?

"D-don't worry, Yodaka-san. I will hit a target for sure." said Asia as brightly as she could. The girl wasn't going to give up easily and that was a good thing. Though it would be better if the clumsy girl could hit a target right in the first shot. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to his MP5...

*CLANK!*

That was fast. The motivation did work after all.

"I... I... I did it, Yodaka-san! I hit it! I hit it!" as he inspected the small tin can used as a target, Asia was on the verge of jumping up and down as if Christmas just came early. One more centimeter and it would have been a miss. A lucky shot no less but she had successfully hit a target nonetheless.

"Good. Now if you can't hit a target in the next four shots, you won't have any dinner tonight."

"EEHHHH?!"

Still, the only easy day... was yesterday. And she still had a long way to go.

* * *

Wow, the atmosphere in the Occult Research club room was rather... heavy, to be honest. And here he had thought dealing with the stares was annoying enough.

"Here's your tea, Yodaka-san, Asia-chan." Two steaming tea cup were put in front of him and Asia, who was shifting nervously next to him, as he gave his black hair classmate a small thankful nod. How long had it been since the last time he had had a cup of tea? He couldn't remember. This was another nice change.

That aside, he wondered who would fire the first shot. The redhead Gremory, the Sitri heiress or him?

"You tricked me, senpai!" his answer came with the brown hair pervert who comically pointed an accusing finger at him.

Well, it had been more like he had pulled his leg, though he admitted the difference between those two things was very small. But more important...

"And you fell for it even though I didn't even try to trick you." He gave Issei a deadpanned look, making the pervert laughed nervously

"It's... it's because you're too good!" this made his deadpanned stare become even more intense. Really? REALLY?! His full-of-holes act had been too good?! If that pervert wanted to become a new Shimura Ken **(2)** , then his review advice for this comedian-wannabe would be 3/100 and 'try harder'.

"Can we return to the main reason why we are here, please?" Any person with half a brain could see how irritated the Student Council president was. Though he was glad that the kaichou had decided to interfere, no more dealing with the ido...

"Exactly! Now, why did you destroy my baby?!" the Gremory heiress was on the verge of howling childishly now "Do you know how hard it was to get the same one used in the live-action version? It also has the signature of Shindaichi-kun!"

... He took that and anything he was going to say back. And did she mean the flycam yesterday?

"If you mean the flycam, then I am going to sue you for violating my privacy." He said blankly. If she had used a familiar, he might have a little more trouble to find out. _Might_. And speaking of that, he wondered between a submachine gun and a shotgun, which one was better for familiar hunting?

An audible sigh escaped Sona's lips as she pinched the bridge of her nose. For a moment, he had almost felt some sympathy for the glass-wearing girl. Almost.

"Akeno-san, can you please _restrain_ Rias?" Now there was a tick mark on the Student Council president's forehead. Guessed the glasses-wearing girl had just used her last ounch of patience.

"Ufufufu, if you said it like that kaichou, I might get the wrong idea." This was the first time he saw and heard someone could laugh in such a melodic and beautiful yet... very disturbing way at the same time.

"Senpai is a pervert." Said the mascot of Kuoh in her well-known monotone as her senpai started bickering again.

And why did he have a feeling that they had forgotten that Asia and him were still here? And had they forgotten that their reason why they had invited him and the former blond nun to come here, which he assumed was to find out more about him and Asia?

"... Um, Yodaka-san?... Should we say something?" Asia whispered timidly

"... Don't bother. Let's get out of here and return when they calm down."

What a waste of time.

* * *

 ***Unknown place***

"You call?"

" **Yes, my friend. Tell your siblings to prepare. The time may come much sooner than I expected. And he will need your help."**

"Will he remember anything?"

" **Unlikely. He and The Scourge has the same soul yet they are two different entities now. He may have similarities with The Scourge but he is not the same person you four knew anymore."**

"Like how I share the same name with you?"

" **Simply put, if you seek a substitution for The Scourge you knew, then I can guarantee that he is the best one you can find, physically at least."**

"War and that woman will be disappointed."

" **I doubt that, my friend. And even if it happened to War, I doubt it would last more than two minutes. And that woman, did you forget the reason why when** _ **that**_ **had happened, you four and The Ghosts hadn't ridden and eradicated every single devils and demon you laid eyes one?"**

"Our and her loyalty lies with The Scourge doesn't mean we view things in a same way. That aside, shouldn't you give him a head-up?"

" **Not necessary. Beside, it will be a much more... entertaining scene to watch if our friend is not informed beforehand."**

"More like you want to see the world turn upside down. Is this the revenge you intend for what _they_ did to The Scourge?"

" **Revenge? No, my friend. This is simply a small prank. But if you want, you can think this is a retribution. Nothing more, nothing less."**

"Good."

(Chapter end)

* * *

 **(1) Nihonshu and Shochu are both traditional Japanese alcoholic beverages, but there are some important differences between them. For example, Shochu is distilled liquor, similar to brandy and vodka. However Nihonshu is categorized as fermented liquor putting it in the same category as wine.**

 **(2) Shimura Ken is a well-known Japanese comedian and actor.**


	10. (Special Valentine Update) Interlude 1

_Just a little longer is fine, a little more is fine, just a little longer is fine, so_

 _Just a little longer is fine, a little more is fine;_

 _Let's stick together, just a little longer_

* * *

 **Interlude 1:**

 ***Play music: Kage Renbo (Love in the shadow)_Buta-Otome***

Another job done. He let out a tired sigh, his feet walked in a leisure pace on an empty street as he briefly glanced at the east where first light of the dawn was slowly came to view. Soon a new day came to replace the past old day.

Why did we human keep looking back?

Death told him that probably because it was human's instinct. Human race was the species that could not help but looking back. The feeling of 'missing' was the same as finding the old 'time' that had already passed. Loving every moment, cherishing lives, all those thoughts were what created 'dream' and that 'dream'...

... was the world a person's love ones were living...

" **Master."**

Immediately, he whipped out his suppressed handgun to the source of the voice. Even though P99 was a really nice handgun, he couldn't deny that he missed the feeling of his old USP. 45, which he had used ever since his first day as Agent of Mercy.

" **I mean you no harm, Master."**

The source of the voice raised her hands up slightly. Fair skin, short silver hair with black hairband, eyes covered by what seemed like black bandage, black dress (in lolita style perhap? Fashion was not his forte after all) with long black socks and black high heel shoes. Even with the upper half of her face concealed, he had to admitted she had her own unique beauty and charm that even Rei, Rias or Akeno could have.

Though he had to wonder, what did she mean with the 'Master' part?

"Who are y..." but before he could finish his question, the mysterious girl had already continued

" **Is your name Kayoda, Master?"**

Huh? What the hell?

" **Grayfia Lucifuge? Do you know that name?"** the mysterious girl continued without waiting for his answer, as if she didn't even see his confused expression.

... Well, she did have her eyes obscured after all so... Yep, he shouldn't have been surprised.

"Never heard of it." His grip on the handgun tightened as he tried not to sound frustrated "Now answer my questi..."

... Only to be ignored, again. Seriously?

" **So it is true."** the silver hair looked down slightly as her face now adopted an unreadable expression before she turned away **"... We will see each other again, Master."**

' **Time stop'**

The familiar pale emerald bubble immediately froze her in the spot as he re-positioned in front of her, his Time Vision activated. When the bubble dispelled, the suppressed barrel now was pointed directly at her face

"Answer. My. Question. Who are you? Why do you call me 'Master'?" He emphasized every single word as much as he could, especially the last question "And why did you call me 'Kayoda'?"

Kayoda, the name he had been called only two times, first by Death while Amaterasu was the second, and both times were the same question the mysterious silver hair girl had asked him before he could introduce himself. He had thought that it had been just a simple coincidental mistake of the two deities since it was no surprise and none of them had called him that name ever since...

... but when something happened the third time, it couldn't be considered as a coincidence anymore.

" **My name is not important now. I call you 'Master' because you're my Master."** Tilting her head a little bit in a rather odd yet cute manner, the silver hair stated calmly **"And 'Kayoda'... was your name."**

'Was'? This was getting more and more confusing. But before he could said anything, three blurry afterimages of the mysterious girl appeared right next to her caught him completely off guard. Did that mean...

" **You drop your guard."**

With a swat, his gun holding hand was knocked upward before his finger could pull the trigger. Immediately, a tactical knife appeared in his left hand as he held the knife in reversed grip and slashed it forward only to be knocked to the side, making him become completely opened as the silver hair quickly closed in

'Crap.' He cursed mentally as he tried to chant a familiar phrase in his mind **'Time dod...'**

"UMMPP?!"

But before he could dodge, the silver hair girl forcefully grabbed the collar of his shirt before she kissed him square in the lips, her tongue started exploring the inside of his mouth thoroughly as the sheer brazenness made him lose his balance and fall backward, pulling the girl down with him.

After a whole minute, the girl on top of him finally drew back as the thin trail of saliva was the only thing connected her lips and his lips, his senses were reeling as his brain was trying to reboot and understand what in the world was going on. But when his brain finally came to its sense and tried to say anything, the girl laid her head down onto his chest, her face now had an expression of wonder that made her look even more beautiful in her own unique way.

" **Please, Master."** a sigh of longing escaped her lips as she whispered quietly **"Just a little longer..."**

Instinctively, his tensed body started to relax as his arms moved on their own and awkwardly wrapped around her back. The silver hair girl's body stiffened at his sudden act before leaning in his embrace, her ear pressed again his chest where the position of his heart was as her lips morphed into a small yet radiant smile. The feeling he was experiencing... it was alien yet oddly familiar. The way she put her left hand on his chest, her lavender scent and that smile... they all felt so strangely right and endearing. For a very brief second, a very small part of his mind just wanted this moment to continue for eternity, much to his confusion.

Hesitantly, the girl got up from their position and looked at him with that unreadable expression again before helping him back on his feet.

" **Good bye, Master."** The silver hair girl gave him a gentle peck on his lips before she stepped back **"We will meet each other again."**

And with that, the mysterious girl disappeared as he just stood there and looked at the space in front of him, still unsure about what had just happened.

 ***End music***

(End Interlude)

 **Author's note: So hyped for NieR: Automata now! It has been quite a while since the last time a main female character could interest me like 2B and 2A. And Happy Valentine Day! Hope you guy enjoy this short special Valentine update! And please, read and review!**


	11. Chapter 10

_Our lives, our choices. That is what humanity always believes._

 _But is it the truth?_

 _Do we truly have a choice?_

 _Or are we just simply dancing along the tune of Fate?_

 _Curiosity is the motivation for those who have to know,_

 _But can you find the truth and understand/accept it?_

 _Or will you go insane trying?_

* * *

 **Chapter 10:**

"Yodaka-san? Yodaka-san!"

Huh? What? Oh right...

"Are you okay, Yodaka-san?" asked Asia in concern as she put her chopsticks down. At least her clumsiness didn't affect her when she ate, and for that, he was grateful. "You seem... out of it."

He did? Well, in his defense, he had just lost his first kiss to an unknown girl this very early morning. While he admittedly didn't mind losing his first kiss to a beautiful girl like that, the fact that he had lost it to an unknown girl instead of Rei was still... kind of sad.

With a tired sigh, he couldn't help but shaking his head. What was he thinking? She was out of his reach now. What was the point? What was he expecting anyway?

"I'm fine." He shook his head a little bit. "Just... a little lack of sleep. Don't worry."

For some unknown reasons, his instinct decided that telling his blond housemate that he had (unintentionally) kissed an unknown girl was not a good idea. At all.

"Then you should get some more rest, Yodaka-san. Today is a day off, right?" Asia seemed to accept his reason as her worry went away, albeit only a little bit. "Just let me handle the dishes myself..."

With a nod of acceptance, he got up after finishing his breakfast and started gathering the dishes while ignoring Asia's protests. While he appreciated her good intention, having the clumsy blond former-nun broken a few more of his _**plastic**_ utensils was the last thing he wanted to see in a new day (How in the world she managed to do that, he still had no idea.). No offense, but sometimes he wondered whether or not the church was willing to kick the blond nun with such a valuable Sacred Gear out was because of her clumsiness, not just because she had unknowingly healed a devil.

Hmm, the image of Catholic Church being destroyed by the clumsiness of Asia Argento would be quite a ridiculous yet humorous scene to watch, he must admitted.

Oh right, he did have an important thing to do. He guessed he should...

*DING DONG!*

Huh, a guest? Now that was unusual. He wondered who was that.

* * *

Yep, super unusual. After all, it was not everyday that his guests consisted of Kuoh's Two Great Onee-sama, the student council's president and her vice-president (Shinra Tsubaki if his memory served him correctly), the current 'Lucifer' and a silver- haired woman in a maid uniform that felt, much to his confusion, oddly familiar. And the same kind of familiarity that he had felt about the unknown girl clad in black in this early morning, he might add.

"Sorry for the poor condition and the lack of refreshment. This is all I can offer." He said dryly as he put six glasses of water on the table. He hadn't have guests for quite a long time, and so had no reason to restock his tea, especially when having three meals a day had been way more important back at that time.

"That's okay, Kashitarou-san." Said the redhead man in a friendly manner as his classmates and the two student council's members were looking around his home with a look of surprise. For some unknown reasons, the current 'Lucifer' seemed pretty nervous if his eyes indicated anything. Meanwhile, the silver hair woman's gaze was literally glued to himself as her eyes held a mixture of emotions that he couldn't make head or tail of except for the longing.

Strange.

"Anyway," the redheaded man cleared his throat "I'm Sirzechs Lucifer, though I believe you already know me..."

He nodded his head slightly, inspecting the devil carefully. It was clear as day that Amaterasu hated this devil, though he didn't know why as he doubted Sirzechs's childishness was the main reason. Perhaps this sudden meeting might give him some answers?

"... And this is my Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge..." The older Gremory indicated the silver hair woman as the memory of what the mysterious girl had told him resurfaced.

" _ **Grayfia Lucifuge? Do you know that name?"**_

For a moment, the feeling of surprise mixed with wariness hit him full force. A few hours ago he heard an unfamiliar name and now, the person carried that name stood only two meters away from his position. Quite a massive string of coincidence created by fate, huh?

"And why do you wish to meet me, Gremory-san?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrow. One thing he didn't like about the four satans was the fact that they took up the four former satans' name. While they had done it to honor the names, the fact that the Old Four's side had lost in the civil war and the New Four had done it without permission from those Old Four still remained, thus making their act became more like a very subtle insult in his view. And potentially, the pillars supporting the old faction.

Trying not to shake his head, his mind returned to the present. Where was he... oh right. Anyway, unless it was something very important, a satan wouldn't personally come to see it and...

"Huh?" Apparently, his red hair classmate thought that his question was direct at her though he decided not to correct her, given that he would have eventually ask anyway "Well, since Sona and I are in charge of this town, we are requested to come along."

"And Buchou wants to see the place where her target of obsession lives." Added Akeno with a mischievous smile.

"I do not!" Huffed the red hair girl with a tint of pink on her face as he resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He really should have corrected her.

"May I ask you a question, Kashitarou-san?" asked Sona after taking a sip of her water "Why didn't you notify me or Rias about your role as the Shinto representative?"

The first question had been asked by the Sitri heiress. Not like what he had expected but it wasn't a surprise to him anyway.

"Without your attention, my job would be easier. And I assumed you already knew at that time." He said neutrally as he glanced at her older brother. "Also, Amaterasu-sama had said she had informed the 'Lucifer' about my presence. Shouldn't he inform you two?"

Hearing that made the red hair satan in his question let out a laugh of embarrassment.

"Ahahaha... it was my fault actually since I... 'accidentally' destroyed the notification... "

But before he could finish, the woman named Grayfia cut him off in an icy tone.

"... along with the paperwork that you should have taken a look at and done instead of destroying them." For a moment, her gaze was turned to the 'Lucifer' before turning to him and giving him a deep bow "Please accept my apology for the failure of my King, Kashitarou-sama."

While he could understand her reason to call him '-sama', the fact that she stared at him most of the time made him feel a little bit uncomfortable with the way she referred to him.

"Ah yeah. I'm sorry, too." Sirzechs scratched his head slightly before bowing deeply.

Nodding his head slightly as he subtly glanced at the four remaining guests, he could see quite a... weird expression of surprise plastering on their face. Was the scene of a satan apologized for a small mistake that said satan had made rare enough to make them have such an expression like that?

"So... why do you wish to meet me, Sirzechs-san?" he decided to use the satan's first name this time in order to not confuse the person his question addressed to as another surprising expression appeared on the four younger devils. Probably because he called Rias's older brother by his first name, which he admitted could be a little impolite since this was the first time he met Sirzechs face-to-face.

Not to mention the redhead man held a much higher position comparing to him.

"To meet you face-to-face and apologize for my mistake, of course. And to see whether you require any help." Clearing his throat again, Sirzechs spoke in a somewhat... restrained cheerful tone before it turned curious. "And to be honest, I didn't expect you to live in such a... Spartan abode like this. No offense, of course."

He raised his eyebrows briefly until he understood what the red satan meant and his curiosity was understandable. Greed and Pride were two very usual traits devils possessed and in their mind, a place where the representative of the Shinto Faction lived would be a traditional Japanese-styled mansion or at least a modest but comfortable house.

Not a small bare three-room apartment with the most basic furniture a person would require, with the bookshelf served as the only source of entertainment.

That aside, were those all Sirzechs wanted to know? He had expected him to mention Asia since said girl, who was shifting nervously beside him, held a very valuable healing Sacred Gear. Perhaps Amaterasu hadn't informed Sirzechs about her Twilight Healing? But if that was the case, he would have known regardless since Rias along with her peerage had met both Asia and Freed before, and Asia had told him that she had healed the maniac in front of their eyes. Or...

Ugh, he would worry about it later. Time to get back to the red satan's question...

"... None taken., as I have... personal reasons to live like this. And I don't need any help for now..." He said neutrally "... Though I do have a question for Lucifuge-san. And no '-sama', please."

Despite her cold and emotionless facade, the mixture of emotions in her eyes was becoming more noticeable to the point he doubted his four schoolmates wouldn't notice.

"What do you want to know, Kashitarou-san?" asked the silver haired maid carefully.

Well, here went nothing.

"... Do you know any person named **Kayoda**?"

(Chapter end)

* * *

 **Author's note: Nier: Automata is such as BLAST! Anyway, I know this is a rather short update but mostly because I want to finish the 'building up more tension' stuff and move to the next arc. Anyway, I want to send my most sincere thanks to Solita Belle for putting up with me and stopping me from abusing** _ **Engrish.**_ **Finally, please read and review!**


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